GRYD - A RWBY Universe Story
by blackmagicwolf
Summary: A new story in the RWBY universe is about to unfold! And It all begins with a dark prologue that shows right off the bat how bad things are about to get. Join us, and watch a fun story with brand new characters begin. The story of GRYD is about to begin!
1. Prologue

**Authors Note:** This is a story based in the RWBY universe, but it only connects to places and ideas set in the universe. No characters from the first three seasons of RWBY, or beyond, will be mentioned in here. This is an original story in the universe, made with original characters, and many original themes. Yes, there will be plenty of familiar ideas and tropes, but it's my hope that if you give it a chance, you'll see just how special it is. Without further ado, I present to you: GRYD.

 **Prologue - Why Are We Here?**

In a dark room, a lone chair appears. The only thing being illuminated in the darkness. Footsteps fill the void, and a silhouetted man approaches the chair and sits down. He looks upon the room and sees the flicker of many lights from various machines. The man looks to the area in front of him, where several tubes are positioned, each full of something, but unclear as to what.

After looking around the man laughs and leans back in the chair, "May I ask you a question? Do you ever wonder why we're here?"

He held out his arms as if expecting a response. But none came. He smirks and shakes his head.

"I know it is an odd question I suppose, but one I feel we must ask. After all, it is because of how the world is that we do what we do, isn't it? Because there was once darkness, and from that darkness came the Grimm. To survive, we humans and Faunus had to be more, we had to be Huntsman and Huntresses. We had to fight with everything we had at our disposal, and at the worlds disposal, just to survive! And even then, it wasn't enough. We live in constant fear of Grimm, we live having to isolate ourselves from them so that our way of life can be preserved. Were it not for our discovery of Dust, would we even have gotten that far?"

He again held out for an answer, but again none came. He shakes his head sadly

"It's true for sure that we have wonders in our world despite our...circumstances. There are nations, ruling bodies, schools dedicated to training the next generations of protectors, and more advances come every day. But, is it enough? Moreso, does it really matter in the grand scheme?"

The man gets up and starts to walk around in a circle around the chair. His expression gets more and more angry with each passing rotation.

"It all goes back to the question I asked at the beginning, "why are we here?". Is peace even possible as long as one side fears the other? Where one side is easily triggered into a fight, and the other prepares relentlessly for that fight? Can there truly be any victory, when both sides are mindlessly spiraling towards defeat?"

He stops just behind the chair, and grabs onto the back of it with his hands, his face becomes heavy with sadness.

"I weep for them, you know? The young ones, the ones who are preparing to "enter" the world. I weep for them."

Far away, a golden haired teen is in an argument with several adults, all with gold or silver hair. The teen does not back down as more and more join the argument. While many argue, others of the group look upon the young man with great sadness.

"I weep for the ones who are told what is "correct" by those who think it correct. That breaking the trend that was set before them is blasphemy, and should be frowned upon."

A young red-headed girl dances in front of a group of kids, a whip in her hands, she elegantly dances without a care in the world, much to the enjoyment of the children.

"I weep for the naive, those who think they know what's coming, or that they'll be just prepared enough to survive it. Or worse, they don't care what's coming, and have more selfish reasons for being what they are."

Two Faunus girls, one with cats eyes and one with rabbit ears, work in a shop. They talk to one another, and help the other as they progress through the work. If one has difficulty, the other quickly comes to their aid.

"I weep for those who are held as "lesser beings" for completely illegitimate reasons. Who are we to say what is greater and lesser when we did not make this world? Did not make who inhabits it? Wars fought for the wrong reasons against the wrong enemy. Now? Though there is "peace" between us, the hate is still there. Don't they understand that hate is part of the problem?!"

Growls and roars fill the room, causing the man to laugh with evil intent.

"I know, I know. I know what you need, and you have it in spades. How else could you be alive right now? Now, where was I?"

In a forest far away, an older and younger man in military garb quickly work through the trees. Without words, they communicate through gestures to show what each of them should do. They coordinate with this until they come across a pack of Grimm. They countdown to be in sync before attacking.

"I weep for the soldiers, the ones who are but lambs to the slaughter. Ones who are told they are making a difference in the world, but truly are only delaying the inevitable."

On a nearby mountain, two teens, one boy with a green sweatshirt and one girl in a kimono, hold hands and look at the nearby shattered moon. They look to one another and smile happily, as they are content to just be alone with the other.

"I weep for the blind, those who think that no matter what happens, they'll make it through this life unscathed. That "what they have inside" will carry them through. At times, I long for that kind of ignorance."

The man sits in the chair once more, and looks sadly at the ground once again.

"Most of all? I weep for those who know."

On a cliff, overlooking a small town, a young man with brown hair and a brown trenchcoat looks out at the scenery. He has his weapons at the ready, and stares out at the city with great determination.

"The ones who know that this world is spiraling towards something terrible, and that they need to grow in ways they can't think of in order to survive. I weep for them because they'll never know how far they have to go to get to that point, and thus they'll burn out before they can get even close."

The man pauses and sighs heavily. Then he starts to laugh softly.

"You know, I often talk like this because I hope he hears me."

At a school, a man with long black hair looks out of the grounds of the place that is charged with caring for. His expression is one of uncertainty, and pain.

"I hope my old friend hears me, and knows I'm doing the things that I said I would do. Even without his blessing. I hope he knows that I'm only doing this because I care, I care for this world, and I seek to end this pointless war. It'll be tough, and he'll hate me, and he'll hate what I do, but, that's ok. The end justifies the means if we get peace. Right? Isn't that why we're here?"

The man stands up, and walk towards the machines and the tubes, as he gets closer he sees the Grimm that are inside, all growling angrily at him.

"Aren't we here to bring balance to the world? To stop the "Grimm problem"? To attempt to be better than we are by going the extra mile? Why else would whatever maker we have make Grimm? Why make such pure evil? Why allow it to happen? Because they, who they are, knew. They knew. They knew what would happen, and they knew that someone, somehow, would find the answer to the question. It might take years, generations, but someone would see it, the meaning behind it all. The next step."

He smiles at the Grimm, then goes to a switch on a nearby panel close to the Grimm containers.

"And so, I say...it's time to start. Don't you?"

He throws the switch, and the Grimm become consumed in gas, roaring in anger and pain as they do. The man laughs as he watches them squirm.

*credits*


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: New Arrivals**

Their eyes were fixed upon him.

As he walked by every teen and parent looked at him. They knew who he was, even if they didn't understand what he was.

The young man stopped and looked at them all without emotion. He had on a long brown overcoat that had sleeves cut to his elbows. He had gloves on that went high upon his arm, and had a brown coloring that matched his boots. At the top of his coat was a red cloth that he wore around his neck like a cloak, but it merely circled his head without touching anything but his shoulders. He had numerous accessories, including a belt that had runic symbols on it, belts across his chest, and fringe cloth and ornaments on his shoulders. His hair was short, curly and brown, the same color as his eyes. As he looked upon everyone you could see the age upon his face, though he was still very young.

Without so much as a notion to them he continued to walk. Eventually, he made his way to an air vehicle that was to take him to his destination. As he passed more people they moved out of his way, many out of fear. Upon entering, he made his way to the back of the craft, and sat on the ground far away from any of the common areas. He closed his eyes and tried to block out the sound of the people as they entered the craft.

"Glyph Masterson!" said a voice a while after he sat down

Glyph opened his eyes and looked out to see another young man looking at him with a smile. He wore an old-school army attire. Camouflage style pants and undershirt, an army vest, and more. He had a shovel or sorts strapped onto his back. His hair was cut like a soldiers, and had a light color to it.

"Macro." Glyph stated, a small smile appearing on his face

"Should've known you would've been here in the corner."

Macro took the shovel off of his back, as he did the shovel revealed a very jagged edge on one side. He held it in front of him as sat next to Glyph, then laid it on his lap.

"Been a long time." said Macro with a smile

"It has." replied Glyph

"I'll be honest, I wasn't sure you would be coming to Beacon after...you know..."

"Me either."

"What changed?"

"I did."

"Short and blunt as always eh Glyph?"

"Yep."

They looked at each other and laughed smally, then look back at the now fully packed craft full of students.

"Lot of new arrivals huh?"

"Yep."

"Have you thought about-?" started Marco

"No." interjected Glyph

Macro sighed and shook his head sadly, "Glyph, I know you're still thinking about what happened, and you should be. But I'm pretty sure the reason you're here is because you're looking to the future. Right?"

He waited for Glyph to respond, but he didn't.

"The future for us is Beacon, and Beacon has us in teams, and you need to start thinking about those teams, and who might be on them."

Again Glyph didn't respond. Macro looked at him with pity.

"Wow, you really are still thinking about it."

"Same as you think about your "career"." said Glyph bluntly

Macro was taken aback by this, Glyph's face became full of regret.

"Sorry."

"No, don't be. I do think about it still. I'm hoping Beacon gives me the insight I need, one way or another."

They both go quiet, thinking about what haunts them in their minds. After a while, Macro turned to the window and saw something that made him smile. He nudged Glyph and motioned him to follow. As they approached the window they saw a massive place awaiting them.

The school of Beacon was a perfect mix of natural beauty and man-made architecture. It had natural trees and grasslands, but also man-made ponds and streams. In the center was Beacon Academy itself. It had tall towers, numerous walkways, and several buildings all built into one place.

"It's a little too elegant for a guy like me," noted Macro, "but it'll do."

"It will." agreed Glyph

Macro looked at Glyph, who was looking at the academy with great uncertainty. He put his hand on Glyph's shoulder, causing him to turn and look at Macro.

"Hey, we'll get through this, and even if all these other arrivals don't want you on their team? I do. I always have. As long as I lead of course."

He flashed a big smile at Glyph, which caused him to roll his eyes. But eventually he stopped and nodded his head, "I'd like that."

"Then Beacon here we come."

They watched and waited as the ship slowly lowered to the ground. Once opened, the students departed, Glyph and Macro were some of the last ones to leave. All of them look took better notice of their surroundings as they left the craft.

"Like I said, too elegant for me. Give me a forest and a sleeping bag any day." said Macro as he looked around

"I prefer beds." noted Glyph

"Wimp. Oh, they're going this way, let's follow."

Glyph and Macro followed the pack of students and headed into the academy. Eventually, they were led into a large amphitheater. The students murmured amongst themselves as they waited for news on what to do next.

Both Glyph and Macro looked around, but for entirely different reasons. The sound of footsteps got everyone's attention though, and they looked to the stage were a small man was standing. Though he was short in stature, it was clear he was quite strong, and his attire was a mix of formal suit, and suit of armor.

"Welcome to Beacon Academy everyone," he said with a surprisingly deep voice, "I am Heathern Squire. Head of Staff here at Beacon, you will be seeing me and the rest of your teachers quite a lot of over the next few years."

The students again murmured amongst themselves, but were silenced when Squire cleared his throat.

"Another person you will be seeing is the Headmaster, who I am about to introduce you to. I will say before he enters, I expect all of you to treat him with the utmost respect. Or else."

This got a major reaction from the students, Glyph and Macro looked at Squire with angry intent, as they felt threatened.

"And now," said Squire getting their attention, "allow me to introduce, Headmaster Night."

He backed up and motioned to his right, where a tall man emerged. His hair was long and jet black, as were his eyes, and much of his attire. Much like Squire, his clothes were a mix of suit and armor, but Night's made him look much more regal. As he approached the center of the stage he turned and stood upright with perfect posture. To the students surprise though, he didn't say a word, not at first.

Instead, Night looked long and hard at all the students that were gathered before him. At times, his gaze seemed fixed on certain students, both Macro and Glyph got this feeling when his eyes turned to them.

Finally, once he had his look, he straightened up even more and looked at them as a whole, "I see many faces here today. Some male, some female, some human, some Faunus. As I look at you though, I can tell you one thing. Not all of you will be alive in a few years."

This statement caused an uproar in the student body, Glyph and Macro were among the few to keep their composure. Headmaster Night held a hand into the air to signal he wanted to speak, the students slowly quelled their chatter.

"I am told that I am a blunt man, I consider this a side effect of my experiences. As you know, I am Kendall Night. I was the leader of a team from this very school, Team KGHT, and yes, I have every joke there is about the names. So please don't."

The students snicker at this, but again die down.

"I have sat through many speeches, and have been told by others at other schools what their headmasters told them when they arrived. Though inspiring, and necessary to a degree, I believe in a more truthful approach. Yes, my truths are hard, but they are necessary to prepare you for what it is to come."

Night motioned to a wall, "Outside these walls is a world filled with monsters. Not all of them though are Grimm. Human and Faunus can be just as deadly, whether it be through their words, or their actions. I have seen this, and as my teammate Squire will attest, I have fought this. I worked long and hard to make this world safer for children like you. Yet as you stand here, you are a testament to the truth, it's not enough, not yet. You are proof that the world is still in danger. So, I must prepare you for what it is to come once you truly leave these walls. Sadly, that means I have to tell you the blunt truth, not all of you will be alive in a few years time."

No one made a sound this time, Night sighed sadly and looked towards the ground, "Death, is an inevitability, and sadly, in our world, we live in a place where death can come at any point in any given day. No one is truly safe, not in Vale, Mistral, Vacuo, or Atlas. To feign safety is to invite death, to ignore what our world has become is to embrace death. I refuse to let you die for these reasons. So, while you are here, both alone and in teams, you will work, and work hard, to become Huntsman and Huntresses that can fight what brings death in this world. Though I know I cannot succeed in keeping you all alive, I believe in my heart that if you believe what we teach, and you learn from one another, you will have a better chance than most.

The students looked to each other and talked about Night's words. Soon he raised his hand again.

"There are rumors," he said with a smirk, "that all new arrivals to Beacon go through a screening process. That is true."

Another burst of chat from the students came forth, causing Night to again raise his hand.

"Let me be clear though, I was not trying to keep anyone out. More of, I was trying to know who I was bringing in. Now yes, I did reject certain students, but it was because I believed that they had nothing to learn here, or, they would not be willing to learn here. Those are attitudes I cannot allow here, for they welcome death."

He looked to Squire briefly, who was sad in his expression.

"But, for those who are willing to learn, there is infinite potential for you. I truly believe that anyone, anyone, can grow into a something they did not expect. I have seen it, in fact, I was one of those students."

At this Squire chuckled, getting Night's attention. He bowed slightly in embarrassment, but Night joined in on the joke.

"Another secret of this academy, is that the staff looks at your profiles before you enter and gives you..."titles". These titles are based on what they think they know about you, and how you will succeed, or fail, based on those profiles. And yes, we did the same here. The irony in this is, that those profiles aren't worth much if you don't let them. For when I took over for the position of Headmaster, the man before me, who was my Headmaster, showed me my file. On it, was my young face, some details of what I had done at Signal, and the words, "Most likely to die within a year after graduating."

A wave of shock and surprise swept the room. Even Glyph and Macro were surprised at this, given the legend of Team KGHT. Night again smiled at this.

"Precisely, I was deemed someone who would died, and die quickly apparently. It's funny how life can change you. More specifically, it's funny how people can change you."

He turned to Squire and gave him a small bow and salute, to which Squire happily returned it.

"I have no doubt when I entered Beacon that I was exactly what that file said I was. But then I was put on Team KGHT, and I led Team KGHT, that was all the difference, the rest you already know. So in conclusion, I tell you with upmost honesty and sincerity, if you let us, we will help you. If you bond with your team, you will grow. Past histories, past discretions, family ties, nothing of that sort matters here. For from this moment on, you are students at Beacon Academy. I hope to see all of you graduate in two years time."

Night took a step back and bowed to all the students, then left the stage. The entire room was silent as he did. Squire then took center stage and got their attention once more.

"The remainder of the day," stated Squire, "will feature a feast welcoming you to Beacon, then having you rest in the common area afterwards until lights out. You will not be given rooms until your teams are decided tomorrow. You will be led to the feast now."

He lowered the microphone and clapped his hands. The doors sprung open, and attendants entered the theater and began guiding everyone out.

After the feast, Glyph and Macro found themselves in a large common area, where all the new students were being held. Many had changed into their night clothes, other kept their regular attire on. Glyph and Macro had only toned down versions of their standard clothes.

"This is much better," Macro said to Glyph quietly, could barely hear myself in that banquet hall. Way too much noise."

"Agreed." said Glyph with a nod

"So...what did you think of the Headmaster?"

"Blunt, and honest."

"In the good way?"

"...yes."

Macro nodded in agreement, "He is right of course, on a lot of what he said. It's ironic how honest he was."

"How so?" asked Glyph

"Well, it tells me that the rumors were true." answered Macro

"Rumors?"

"Look, you what KGHT did, Team KGHT I mean. There's a reason their legends. But after that? Things went wrong for them. One of their team died, the other is missing and presumed dead, leaving Night and Squire as the lone survivors. Rumors around the kingdoms was that both Night and Squire were offered any position they wanted. Seriously. But instead of taking it, they both agreed to come here, and train the next generation."

"But what's the rumor?"

"That the loss of their teammates broke them, in a very deep way, and they're using this opportunity to try and prevent others from feeling their pain."

"Noble, if futile."

"We all have to try right? To fight inevitability."

"I suppose."

Glyph looked grimly out into the crowd of students, seeing a menagerie of expressions and emotions. He thought about what faces he might not see again, causing pain to fill his face. Macro saw this and began to fidget in place until his expression lit up.

"So," Marco said loud enough to get Glyph's attention, "I think it's time we scouted the "recruits" to see who will be on our team."

"Macro..." said Glyph with clear annoyance

"Oh come on, I actually did a lot of research on this. It's necessary to use the connections your military father has when you're looking for potential good and bad eggs! Right? That's totally a good use of resources!"

Glyph laughed sarcastically, but then shrugged and looked at Macro with a smile, "Sit rep Macro."

"Yes sir!" Macro replied with a happy salute

He scanned the room, looking for candidates he knew about, "Believe it or not, much of our class of Signal transferred to other schools."

Glyph glared at Macro with clearing knowing of the reason, but Macro waved him down, "Easy, easy. I admit, some of them left because of that, but there were plenty of other reasons. As Night confirmed, he screens everyone, and you know as well as I some of our old classmates wouldn't have made it through Beacon without serious injury."

He thought about this and nodded in agreement, "True."

"Yeah, and there were more personal reasons too. I hear some families just preferred teachers or headmasters at the other schools. I know at least three families that had job transfers, which caused them to move their kids, and some kids just wanted to try something new. No baggage."

"Fair enough." noted Glyph

"Exactly," said Macro, "but, in return, we got a lot of transfers from the other schools. For example, see silver and gold over there?"

Macro nodded to one corner of the room, where a young man with gold hair and a silver outfit was standing. The outfit itself was very sleek, but had pointed shoulderpads and upper sleeves, around the collar was fur of some kind. He also had gold boots, which made his hair. Upon further inspection, Glyph noticed the young man had blood red eyes, and a very harsh grin.

"That...is a Heron."

"That's a Heron?!" said Glyph shocked

"Oh yeah, I couldn't believe it either. There hasn't been a Heron at Beacon for generations. Ironic huh?"

Glyph looked back to the young Heron, and just looked at him in disbelief.

"Doesn't look like one. Outside the hair."

"Yeah...about that..." said Macro clearly uncomfortable

"What?"

"Well, the Herons are famous, or possibly infamous, for their peacekeeping, right? They're politicians, mediators, one is even an advisor to the Headmaster of Haven, teaches classes on the "peaceful side of being a Hunter/Huntress". Gag. Anyway, that guy? Reyson? Yeah, he's the black sheep."

"Likes to fight?"

"Ha! That's an understatement. The guy is a berserker, he goes after any Grimm he finds without hesitation, or thought of what it might do. To be fair, he's killed a lot. But...it's ticked off a lot of people, and scared a good many more. This guys personality is a light switch. He's a cool guy one minute, then when he sees a Grimm? Animal. Folks call him the "Cool Barbarian". I call him, "Guy On My Watchlist." In my mind, he trumps what you did in spades."

"Hmm..." said Glyph clearly unconvinced

"Moving on..." stated Macro knowing he wasn't going to win that argument

A plethora of clapping got their attention, and both of them turned to see a red-haired girl entertaining some people with her dances. The girl had a long white dress that had edges filled with red. She had a whip that she used in conjunction with her moves.

"An interesting combination." noted Glyph

"That's one way of putting it," joked Macro, "That's Diana Artemisia, she's from Atlas. She's arguably one of the most elegant fighters you'll ever see. Or so I'm told. Apparently, she wanted to be a dancer, but then decided to be a Huntress who can dance. Women, am I right?"

"Heh."

"Oh! Look at that, there's some familiar faces!"

Macro pointed to another side of the room, where a young man in a green sweatshirt and hair to match was sitting close to a young woman with pink hair and a green kimono. Glyph saw them and was overcome with disbelief.

"The Lovers? Seriously?"

"Yep, still together. You know what that means..."

Macro held out his hand. Glyph sighed angrily and reached into his coat and gave Macro a small wad of money.

"Nice doing business with you Glyph."

"Shut up."

"Don't be mad because I knew they would last the summer."

"Eh."

"Say your "eh" for them."

He nodded to another part of the room, where three girls were standing near a wall chatting. All of them were wearing fashionable clothing, and had very unique stylings. Glyph grimaced as he saw them.

"Easy, you know I want to fight "The Elite" as much as you for what they did during school and after. But we can't. Not yet anyway."

Glyph turned to Macro confused, which made Macro smile, "Don't you remember? We're going to be having lots of combat practice. Which means...if we get paired up against them...open season."

This made Glyph smile, Macro nodded in agreement, "Right there with you man. Let's see, who's left..."

Macro looks around the room, searching for people he recognized, after a bit, he lit up, "Check out the two Faunus over there."

Glyph followed Macro's eyeline and saw two girls sitting against a wall. One had rabbit ears and a simple yet very colorful attire. She hard drawings on both her arms and her pants, while she wore a kind of belt pouch across her torso. The other had a more refined attire, looking kind of like a conductor with a black like suit with blue and white underneath. She also had short white gloves. Her eyes were blue, but were textured more like a cats' eye than a human one.

"Those two are an interesting case, that's...oh no."

Glyph looked at Macro, who's expression went very hard as he looked somewhere other than the Faunus. He followed the new eyeline and saw group of guys glaring evilly at the Faunus, tossing fruit up and down into the air.

"You going to stop them, or should I?" asked Macro readying his shovel

A second later, one of the guys with the fruit shouted out, "Hey bunny! Catch!"

He threw the fruit at the Faunus, who looked up just as it was tossed. She held up her arms to stop the fruit, but it never hit. As she moved her arms, she saw Glyph standing in front of her, fruit caught in his hand undamaged. The room went quiet as Glyph made his presence felt. He glared at the group of guys with intense hatred. The group didn't back down, but they didn't make a move either.

"Grow. Up." Glyph spat out, before tossing the fruit back at them, forcing them to catch it else get splattered

Glyph then turned to the Faunus, and softened his expression, "You both alright?"

"We're fine," said the cat-eyed Faunus, "good catch."

"I didn't see you arrive," said the rabbit-eared Faunus clearly flustered, "that was awesome."

"Thanks. Stay safe."

Before either could respond he blinked out of sight, the rabbit-eared Faunus looked frantically around for him, until she saw him reappear next to Macro and sit down. She nudged her sister, "Did you see that Yasmine? He can teleport!"

"It is a rare Semblance, Leilani," said Yasmine, "we'll have to see what else he can do."

"Yeah," said Leilani with a slightly longing smile, "I'd like to see that."

Now sat down, Glyph reassumes his emotionless expression, Macro just chuckles at him, "Man, you may hate it, but you still got it."

Glyph turned and mustered a smile, "I never lost it."

"Ha! True enough. But seriously, that was cool, nice job. Glad to see your hatred of bullies hasn't gone away."

"Never."

"Another reason I want you on my team. Honestly, I think that's a good sit rep. There will be a few surprises no doubt, but for now, that's good. Cool?"

"Cool. Thank you." said Glyph with a nod of appreciation

"No problem," replied Macro with a jab playfully to Glyph's shoulder, "I love doing that to be honest. Now, I suggest we get comfortable and just watch over things until it's time to rest. Something tells me we'll be doing shifts tonight to keep the peace. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

"Just like old times! Man I sound old."

They share a laugh then stand up and get a good view of the room.

"You want the first shift? Or should I take it?"

"I'll take it."

"Ok, let me know when anything happens, deal?"

"Deal."

A few minutes later they were all prepped for rest and for watch. Though they didn't talk, they knew that this would possibly be the last night of peace like this, for the next morning would force them into new and unpredictable situations. The day where singular people, became teams.


	3. Chapter 2

**GRYD - Chapter 2 -Unite Or Die**

The sun shined bright on the new day, the light of the morning peeked through the windows of the common area. As it did, various students began to wake up.

"Glyph," said Macro with a nudge to Glyph who was still asleep, "it's time."

Glyph slowly opened his eyes, and began to stretch out. He yawned as he got up.

"I still don't know how with all your discipline...you never wake up without help."

"Old habits." grunted Glyph

"What would you do without me?" joked Macro

"Oversleep."

"Probably."

"Anything to report?"

Macro and Glyph looked to the student body which was still waking from their sleep.

"Nah," stated Macro, "most of them stopped after they realized one of us was still awake. I'm very surprised though by the amount of troublemakers here. It's...yeah."

"They'll stop, or else." said Glyph bluntly

"Right. That, and the fact that once we're in our own teams, we'll get our own rooms, and we can lock those."

"Simple joys."

"There you go. Now come on, let's suit up, something tells me we don't have long."

With a nod from Glyph, the two head over to their gear and once again don their Hunter attire. As Glyph puts on his overcoat, he grabs two semi-long sticks from his bag and puts them in an inner pocket. Macro makes sure his pack and supply pouches are secure, checks on his shovel, and then mounts it on his back.

"Ready?" asked Macro

"Ready." said Glyph

No sooner were they ready in their gear than the door opened and Squire stepped into the room.

"Students," he said in his deep voice, "welcome to initiation day. Today, you will be paired into partners, then teams. You have ten minutes to be ready. Then you'll be escorted to the Emerald Forest. Be ready."

With that, Squire turned and left, shutting the doors behind him. Once closed, the students became frenzied and began to collect their stuff. Macro and Glyph however merely waited against a nearby wall, preparing themselves mentally for what was to come.

Eventually, the door reopened, and Squire, along with some assistants, began to escort the students out of Beacon and towards the outside world.

The students were taken to a cliff just outside the boundary of the school. Below was a massive forest as far as the eye could see. It was vast and deep. On the cliff itself, there were silver pads of metal lined up alongside the cliff. Standing at the very border of the rock was Headmaster Night, looking over the forest with clear determination. As the footsteps of the students graced his ears, he smiled and turned around to face them.

"Greetings everyone," he said with a kind smile, "I hope you slept well. For today, you will need your full concentration, skills, and ability to adapt on the fly. For today, you enter the Emerald Forest."

He made a sweeping gesture to the forest itself, and the students looked out upon their soon-to-be proving ground.

"The forest is many things. It is the place where bonds will potentially be formed forever, but also, it is a place where you get to prove you belong here. As you all likely know, as this has been a practice for many years, there are Grimm in this forest. Many in fact, and of many types. It's incredibly likely you'll meet a few while down there. I give you this advice. Think, then act. Do not underestimate the Grimm."

His tone shifted on this last sentence, becoming more serious than before. The students looked at each other nervously at this, including Glyph and Macro. Night seemed to notice this and shook himself out of it.

"On a lighter note. Your partners. As is tradition, once you are in the forest, you'll begin to look for a temple. Along the way, the first person you make eye-contact with is your partner for the next two years. You and your partner will go to the temple and pick out one relic. Then, bring it back to the cliffs. The duo that grabs a similar relic will be paired with you and your partner, and thus make a team. There is no trading or stealing of relics to get on the team you want. Same games for partners. We have camera set up all over the forest, we'll know if you cheat."

Some of the students shifted anxiously at this. Macro nudged Glyph and nodded to him in solidarity, Glyph returned the gesture.

"Squire," said Night turning to his second-in-command, "prepare them for launch."

"Yes sir. Students. Please guide yourselves to one of these platforms."

Squire motioned to each of the panels, and one by one the students made for them until they were all situated firmly on them.

"These launchers will literally launch you into the forest. You'll have to figure out how to safely reach the ground yourselves. I trust too many of you won't get hurt."

He smiled evilly, to which many of the student became nervous.

"Remember, the person you make eye contact with first is your partner. Find the temple in the forest, grab a relic and come back here."

"One last thing." interjected Night with a grim look, "You know there are Grimm in here, and we'll leave you to deal with them should it come to that. But don't think we're going to save you should things go wrong. I know you heard that line about the cameras, and that's true. But both myself and Squire will be rooted right here for the whole initiation. Do not expect help or rescue. You would not have it in the real world for the most part, so you should not expect it here. You have been warned."

He turned to look back at the forest, his back now facing a slightly scared student body. Squire nodded at his statement and looked at the students, "You heard him. Be ready for anything. Now..."

Squire reached into his pocket and pulled out a device with a singular button.

"...let the initiation...begin!"

He pressed the button, and both suddenly and randomly the launcher flung the students into the air in random directions. Night and Squire watched as they flew through the air and descended towards the trees.

"Good luck my students." said Night without emotion

Glyph stayed calm as he flew through the sky, when the trees rapidly approached his eyes scanned all around him. Finally, he saw an open patch of ground and smiled. With nary a motion he vanished, then reappeared a split second later on the ground unharmed. He sighed in relief, then reached into jacket and pulled out a pair of escrima sticks. He pushed a button and they extended outward in both directions, giving him even more weapon. Glyph then loaded up the ends of the escrima with Dust bullets and locked them into the staffs for use. Content with his setup, he carefully walked out of the clearing and into the forest itself.

Macro raced towards the treeline, and once in range of a branch, he grabbed his shovel off his back, flipped it so the serrated edge was facing away from him, and drove it into the tree branch. The sharp edge nearly cut through it, but he was stopped just enough to slow down his momentum and then use the remaining bit to dislodge himself, flip through the air, and land safely on the ground.

He laughed as he looked up as the nearly chopped through branch, "Ah, wish you could've saw that dad, it was just like you said. 'Give it enough, and it'll give right back.' Ok, so...got to find Glyph."

Elsewhere in the forest, the other students began to land and search for others. One of which was the rabbit-eared Faunus Leilani. She landed with simplicity on the ground, no tricks needed. Her expression though was one of fear as she looked around.

"I didn't see where Yasmine landed," she said to herself regretfully, "let's go...this way!"

She raced off in a random direction hoping to find her sister.

In another part of the forest, the one known as Reyson landed on the ground with great impact like a meteor, literally shaking the earth around him. As he rose from the ground he drew a pair of curved swords that were attached to his legs and began to look around hungrily.

"Where are you...?" he asked the open area, "I can tell you're here..."

A rustle of bushes nearby got his attention, and from them a Boarbatusk emerged. He snorted loudly at Reyson, who grinned evilly in return.

"Ah, look at you, you think you're getting the drop on me. Cute."

The Boarbatusk charge at Reyson, who didn't hesitate to rush back. As the two were about to collide, Reyson went into a slide, and used his swords to trip up the Grimm. The Boarbatush flipped through the air, then rolled on the ground until it stopped.

Seeing the exposed underbelly, Reyson flew forward and stabbed it with his swords. It squealed loudly before bursting into smoke. Reyson held the position as he watched the smoke vanish into thin air. He then smiled.

"Ah, bliss. Grimm count for the day? One. Not a bad start."

Another rustling got his attention, and Reyson turned to see a small group of Boarbatusk now looking at him. Reyson laughed happily at this, "Everyone wants in? Fine, let's go!"

The two forces charged at the other so the battle could begin.

Glyph continued through the forest, he went at a decent pace so that he could be ready for anything that might appear. The snapping of a twig made him stop, and he readied himself for combat. From behind him, an Ursa appeared and tried to slash at him. But Glyph sidestepped and slammed one of his escrima into the Ursa's head, sending it backwards.

The Ursa roared as it righted itself, but Glyph looked at it unflinchingly. Again the Ursa charged, Glyph waited for it, then with quickness avoided its attacks and struck back with his escrima. No matter how quick the Ursa attacked, Glyph dodged it and struck back. After one particular set of movements, Glyph flipped his hold on one of the escrima and jabbed the end of it onto the Ursa's head. The contact made the escrima fold back onto itself, and released an explosion of force that sent the Ursa straight to the ground. Glyph followed up with another blast from his other escrima, killing the Grimm, and causing it to dissolve.

He rose slowly from his position and centered himself with a few deep breaths. No sooner did that happen than another rustling came, and two Ursa arrived to attack Glyph. He prepared himself for battle when out of nowhere two bolts of energy struck the Ursa, knocking them back. Glyph turned to see the girl called Diana standing nearby, her whip full extended and a smile on her face.

"Looks like you could use a hand." she said playfully

Before he could respond, the Ursa returned to their feet and charged at each of them. Glyph used a similar technique to before to battle his Grimm, but also added in some kicks and jabs to try and disorient the Ursa.

Diana meanwhile used her weapon to anger and confuse her opponent. She would snap the end of the weapon on the Ursa's head to stun it, then wrap the body of the whip around certain limbs to pull it a certain direction, or knock it to the ground. She had total area control, and Diana loved every minute of it. Eventually, she stopped playing around, and after knocking the Ursa to the ground, wrapped her whip around its neck and twisted the handle in a way that let the whip unleash energy blasts right into the Grimm itself. Killing it instantly.

She looked to Glyph, who was finishing up his fight as well. He jabbed both escrima into the chest of the Ursa, firing two bolts that went right through it, defeating the Grimm. Done, Glyph slowly turned to Diana.

"Nice moves...partner." she said with a smile

"Likewise." he replied

Diana stepped towards him, as she did, she wrapped her whip around her arm, which snugly warped around it until it made a bracelet of sorts. She then extended her hand to Glyph, to which he happily shook it.

"Diana Artemisia."

"Glyph Masterson."

"I know."

"Same."

This made her smile even wider, "Oh, studying up on me?"

"No." he replied simply, "My friend Macro did."

"The military guy?"

"Yes."

"Ah, that explains it. Disappointing. Oh well. Come on partner, let's go find a relic."

With a wink she motioned him to follow. Glyph sighed with annoyance but did follow.

Deep in the forest, Leilani frantically searched for her sister. She constantly stopped and shouted out for her sister, but no response came, causing her to become even more frantic. Soon, she entered a large clearing to catch her breath.

"Where are you sis?" she asked desperately

In front of her, a rustling made Leilani turn. She lit up with hope.

"Yasmine?"

A growling filled the air, and a Beowulf merged, it's teethed bared and claws already extended for battle.

"Oh no."

The Beowulf lunged at Leilani, but instead of running, she held her ground and raised her arms for an attack. As the Beowulf got closer, the drawings on her arms began to glow, and eventually popped off her arm and formed color coated claw blades. Protruding from beyond her knuckles, she thrust the claws into the Beowulfs head, instantly killing the beast.

It dissolved before it hit the ground, and Leilani went from a hardened expression to a remorseful one, "You're not my sister, where are you Yasmine?!"

Before she could get her next direction, several more Beowulf's appeared.

"Oh come on!" she shouted exasperated, "How many Grimm are in this forest?"

She readied her claws on both arms for battle.

"Duck!" came a shout

Leilani ducked down out of instinct, and immediately a wave of bullets came from across the clearing and plowed into the Beowulf's. Though it didn't kill them, it did knock them backwards. Leilani turned to see Macro firing a machine gun type weapon at them. Once close enough, he converted the gun back into his shovel and sliced through the Beowulf's with ease until they were all gone.

Finished, Macro turned to Leilani, who was still knelt on the ground, he extended a hand to her, "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I did have that though."

"I figured, just wanted to be sure. Military attitude."

"Yeah, I understand."

She looked at him, then lit up, "Oh! You were the guy with Glyph, in the common room."

Macro laughed at this, "Not my usual identifier, but yeah. I'm Macro, Macro Camof."

"Leilani Kaleido." she responded kindly

"Pleasure Leilani. Look, I know you probably wanted to be with your sister, but..."

"We're kind of partners now. I get it. Wait, how did you know me and Yasmine were sisters?"

"It's a long story, mind if we walk and talk? We need to get to the temple."

"By all means."

Weapons still out, they headed out of the clearing and back into the forest.

Elsewhere, Yasmine was walking alone, looking around for any indication of life. Suddenly, four drones appeared out of the sky and lowered themselves in front to her.

"Nothing yet?" she asked

The drones beeped, and Yasmine shrugged sadly, "I knew it was unlikely she'd be too close by. Guess we'll keep looking. Two in front, two in back."

The drones beeped again, and formed around her in a protective manner. After a little more journeying, two of the drones began to beep loudly. This caused Yasmine to tense up and move the other drones to them.

"Be ready."

They waited, and soon a mob of Boarbatusks emerged. But instead of attacking, they fled right by her and headed back into the forest. This left Yasmine extremely confused.

"What just happened?" she wondered aloud

"That's right! Run you beasts!" came a voice

Yasmine again tensed up, and from the nearby trees came Reyson, breathing heavily and moving at a snail's pace. He didn't even take notice of Yasmine and tried to walk by her.

"Come on! I only killed twelve of you! That's not even including the first one, so that's a baker's dozen! I'm going for twice that today! Come back!"

He roared angrily when no Grimm reappeared. Reyson tucked his swords away and dusted himself off. Only after all of this did he notice Yasmine.

"Hi." he said with obvious curiosity

"Hi." said Yasmine, clearly not amused

"You...didn't happen to see any Grimm go by did you?"

"Yes, they're long gone by now though."

"Darn it."

A silence filled the void. Reyson looked around in all directions for quite a while before looking back at Yasmine, who had not taken her eyes off of him.

"You single?" he asked

"Excuse me?" she replied slightly outraged

"Not that like, partner wise I mean. School-wise I mean. You single?"

She sighed heavily and nodded, "Yes."

"Good! One problem solved. Reyson Heron."

"Yasmine Kaleido."

"What kind of name is that?""

"The one my parents gave me."

The drones beeped angrily at Reyson, who became a little nervous.

"Ok, ok, call down, call off your toys."

This caused the drones to beep even louder, and even start to glow.

"They're not toys, they're my weapons. Remember that."

"Noted. Noted. Well then...aren't we supposed to something important? Or something?"

"Yes, we are." she said still displeased, "Stay close, my drones will find the temple. And don't go chasing Grimm!"

"Ah come on...it's what I do-"

She glared at him and the drones again glowed angrily at him, causing Reyson to put his hands up in surrender, "Ok, ok, temple chasers we are. Go team."

Yasmine shook her head but didn't respond, and began to leave. Reyson pulled out his swords and muttered bitterly to himself as he followed.

In a massive clearing, stood a small temple outcropping. One that had been weathered by age, but still had many podiums that held chess pieces. Diana emerged from the forest and saw the temple, immediately lighting up.

"Partner! Found it!" she said looking over her shoulder

She raced to the temple and snatched up one of the pieces. Diana came back as Glyph emerged from the trees. She showed him the piece.

"Queen, poetic huh partner?"

"Not really." he said bluntly, " And that's not my name."

"I know, it's a nickname, or a pet name."

"I'm not your pet."

"I know, you're my...partner! Ha, ha, ha."

Diana again smiled playfully, but was brought down by Glyph's serious expression.

"Ok, ok. I won't spoil the moment. Do you mind holding the piece though? No pockets on the dress."

"Sure." he said taking the piece and putting it inside his overcoat

"Thank you...partner."

Before he could reply, gunfire filled the air. Glyph especially took notice of it and made his way towards it. As it got closer, Grimm emerged from the trees, facing off against some unknown enemy. Both Glyph and Diana readied themselves for battle, but the Grimm were soon defeated by Macro and Leilani.

"You good?" Macro asked Leilani

"I'm good." she responded, though slightly out of breath

"Good. Nice job Leilani."

"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself."

"You're too kind. I think this is the...oh hey, Glyph!"

He turned and saw Glyph and Diana, and went over to them, Leilani followed.

"Hey Macro." said Glyph, happy to his friend alright

"Good to see you made it, and you got a partner! The dancer, ironic."

"You're telling me."

"Ha, ha, boys." said Diana a little annoyed

"No disrespect meant," said Macro calmingly, "it's just a personality clash of sorts."

"You're telling me."

Both Diana and Macro laughed at the joke. Leilani meanwhile had her eyes glued on Glyph.

"Hi." she said meekly

"Hi."

"Remember me?"

"I do."

"Oh, good."

"Yeah..." said Macro seeing where this was going, "don't try and force words out of Glyph. It never workds."

"I'll remember that." remarked Diana

"Um," started Leilani looking around, "have you two seen my sister? Long black hair, kind of a conductors outfit?"

"Not that I saw."

"Sorry." added Glyph

Another rustling made them snap their heads to the tree line, and from it, Yasmine and Reyson emerged. Upon seeing the other, Yasmine and Leilani raced to their sisters arms and hugged the other.

"I'm so glad you're safe." said Yasmine

"Same to you!" exclaimed Leilani, "I was looking everywhere for you!"

"Same here."

Yasmine now looked beyond her sister, and saw the others, including Macro, whom she pointed to.

"He your partner?"

"Yeah, he yours?" answered Leilani and pointing to Reyson

"Unfortunately."

"Hey, I'm right here girl." said Reyson offended

"Call me that again and I'll sick my drones on you."

"Letting it go."

"Nice job sis, already warming up to your partner." teased Leilani.

"Not by choice."

"Again!" said Reyson getting their attention, "Right. Here!"

"If you all are done," interjected Macro, "we kind of need to get some relics?"

"We already got ours," said Diana, "Still plenty for you all though."

"Good, we'll get them then. What piece did-?"

Another noise got their attention, and from the bushes came the boy in the green sweatshirt and the girl with pink hair and green kimono. They walked arm-in-arm into the area.

"Aaron." said Macro

"Erin." said Glyph

"Why did you say that name twice?" asked Leilani

"Cause that's Aaron." answered Macro

"And that's Erin." added Glyph

"Huh?" Reyson said confused

The boy and girl giggled, then separated.

"I'm Aaron." said the boy

"And I'm, Erin." said the girl with a bow

"That's confusing." stated Diana

"That's why we call them "The Lovers"," noted Macro, "saves time."

"It is efficient." revealed Yasmine

"I like to think so."

"So you two are a couple?" asked Leilani

"Yep." said Erin, "For a long time now."

"Happily for a long time now." added Aaron

The two looked lovingly at one another at this, causing some of the others to get uncomfortable.

"They're like this all the time." said Macro at this, "Wait, how did you two stay together? They flung you into different parts of the forest. I saw it as I came down."

At this, The Lovers laughed and reached into their clothing to pull out a necklace.

"There's a locater in it." said Aaron with pride

"So we can always find each other. And we did!" Erin said with glee

"It's technically not cheating..." said Yasmine after some thought

"Clever." added Glyph

"Thank you." said Aaron with a bow, "Now, I wish to get a relic and leave this drab forest, anyone with me?"

All except Diana and Glyph nodded, and they proceeded to get the pieces. As they reached the podiums though, the ground began to shake. All of them tensed up at this, and began looking for the source. Suddenly, a large group of Grimm exited one part of the forest, but like before with Yasmine, they raced right by them without a second thought. This made them all confused.

"What was that about?" asked Diana aloud

Glyph didn't answer, but instead looked into the forest where the Grimm ran from. The ground began to shake again, and from the trees game the elephant Grimm known as a Goliath. But something was off about this one. It's base skin was not black like most Grimm, but rather blood red. Macro raced over to Glyph to get a better look at it.

"That's not right." said Macro worried, "I've seen Goliath, they don't look like that, and they certainly aren't aggressors to the extent that they would cause that kind of panic."

As if to answer that claim, the Goliath raised its trunk, and then extended it to unleash a massive roar. The pitch was deafening, and the force alone made Glyph, Diana, and Macro skid backwards. The others looked on in fear at this. Glyph however recovered and armed himself for battle.

"Grab the pieces, then get over here!" he barked at the ones at the temple

Instinctively, three of them grabbed a piece without looking at the others, then went to their partners and joined the others.

Reyson smirked at the Goliath, "Eight against one? I like our odds, red color or not! Oh, and the blood red color is my thing! Get your own shtick!"

The Goliath looked at them all, then roared again, but this time to the sky. They all looked at it in confusion, before feeling the ground shake again. Nervously, they turned around and saw another blood red Goliath marching towards them from behind.

Yasmine glared at Reyson, "You had to say it."

"Oh, like I knew it could summon its brethren!" Reyson bit back

"Focus!" ordered Macro, "We can still do this."

As if to answer that callout, the Goliath's in unison rose up on their hind legs, and together slammed onto the ground. A fissure from the landing was created, and raced towards the group.

"Dodge it!" shouted Glyph as he saw it coming for them

They all dodged in one direction or the other, the fissures met in the middle and from the now several foot gap rose fire. Separating the two groups.

On one side was Diana, Resyon, Yasmine and Glyph, while on the other was Leilani, The Lovers and Macro. The two sides looked to one another fearfully, unsure of what was happening.

"Sis!" cried out Leilani

"Stay strong Leilani! I'll be right there!" said Yasmine

"Something tells me that thing will try and prevent that." pointed out Reyson

He motioned to the Goliath, which was now marching to one side of the fissure directly towards them. The other Goliath did the same thing on the other side.

"We're on our own." said Glyph getting back to his feet and readying himself for battle

"Any ideas partner?" asked Diana doing the same

"Don't die."

"So clever."

"Hit it hard and fast," said Reyson flashing his grin, "don't let it breathe."

"As stupid as that sounds..." started Yasmine with reluctance, "it is a good plan for the time being."

"Ha, I got you to compliment me!"

"Don't get used to it."

"Focus." overrode Glyph, "Attack!"

On the other side, the others formed up as well."

"Ok, listen close," said Macro quickly "stay in pairs, do not leave anyone alone. Attack from all directions, see if it has any weakness. We'll go from there. Go!"

Both sides raced towards their foes. On Glyph's side, he used his teleportation to hit the Goliath from all angles with both his escrima and his bullets. Nothing seemed to work though. Diana let loose the bolts from her whip, but they too seemed to bounce off. Yasmine added bullets from her drones, but like the others, they didn't work. Reyson slashed and stabbed at any part of the Goliath he could get to, but his blades bounced off like it was a stick hitting solid steel.

Macro and Leilani teamed up to try and overwhelm the Goliath, they used their weapons in blade form to try and take out sections of it. Meanwhile. Aaron unloaded his crossbow weapons into it, while folded a Naginata into a long range rifle to assist with the attack. No matter what though, the attacks didn't work.

The Goliath's, angry at their attackers, stunned them with a stomp, then blasted them with their trunk roar, and sent them flying backwards.

Glyph found himself next to Yasmine, and as he helped her up, he noticed her cat's eyes. His expression became one of revelation.

"Chessmaster." he stated

"Don't call me that!" she barked back

"No, your semblance, you can use it to help us, right?"

"Possibly, but I can only analyze what I see and know."

He held up his escrima sticks, "My escrima are short range, but I can make them into a shotgun for one powerful blast, my Semblance is teleportation."

He then pointed to Diana, who understood what was going on, "Oh! My whip has numerous tiny gun ports, and my Semblance is being able to create projections of my dance moves which can attack foes."

Reyson stepped forward, "My swords transform into cannons on each of my arms. And I use momentum to build up my Aura for a powerful slamming attack."

"Now you know," stated Glyph who pointed then at the Goliath, "now save us."

Yasmine nodded and stepped towards the Goliath, her drones in tow. She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them with intensity and they glowed in response.

The world melted away for her, all but herself, her drones and the Goliath remained. Through her eyes and her drones eyes she began to analyze her foe. Parts of the Grimm became highlighted, and words became attached to it, showing her what she needed to know. The more data she got, the more she would mutter to herself. Eventually, it died away and she found herself back in the world.

"Listen closely," she said with confidence, "the Grimm has been altered somehow, it's made its skin much harder, probably why its red and not black. However, it's got some weak spots. The upper joints on the legs don't have the same strength. Furthermore, it's eyes, mouth, and trunk don't have the same kind of protection either. We focus on those spots, cripple it, then use a powerful enough blast to finish it off."

"Let's do it." acknowledged Glyph as he made for the Goliath, but Yasmine stopped him

"The others need to know."

"I'll be right back."

He teleported away, and the remaining three began their attack.

On the other side, Macro and the others were fighting a losing battle. At one point, the Goliath knocked Erin to the ground, and tried to stomp on her, but Aaron got in front of her and created a barrier around them.

"No...attacking...my...girl! he said with a groan as the Goliath crashed his shield

"I love you." said Erin happily

"I know. I love you too."

Macro used his gun to force the Goliath off of them. Then Leilani brought them back to a safe distance. As they did, Glyph showed up.

"What took you?" asked Macro

"Still not done." answered Glyph with a motion to the other side, "Look. It's weak in the eyes, the trunk, and the upper part of the leg, focus on that. I have to get back to my team."

With that he teleported away. Leaving Macro a little bitter but understanding of the situation.

"Ok, we can do this. Lovers? Use your precision to try and take out the eyes. Me and Leilani will go for the legs. Then we'll try and bring it down somehow."

"If you can weaken it, I can do that." said Leilani confidently

"Ok. You heard her. Let's go!"

Back with his team, Glyph helped the other exploit the weakness of the Goliath. He teleported Reyson onto the side of it so he could slash the legs with his blades. Then he did the same with Diana, but teleported her onto its head, where she wrapped the trunk with her whip and blasted it from multiple angles, causing it to roar in pain. Then sent bolts into its eyes, making it go into a frenzy. Yasmine used her drones to attack the remaining upper legs, while keeping one close by to continue scanning the creature.

After a series of attacks, Yasmine smiled, "It's almost there! Finish it!"

"My pleasure!" cried out Reyson who rolled behind the creature, "Get clear!"

Diana and Glyph jumped off, behind the Goliath, Reyson held out his swords, which began to grow and formed massive cannons on his arms. He glowed and the cannons began to charge.

"Eat this."

He released the energy and the Goliath was flown forward. With its weakened legs it couldn't recovered and skid onto the ground. When it stopped, Glyph teleported in front of it, a shotgun now in his hands. He held it right to the top of its head. The Goliath's eyes opened, and Glyph could see pain in it, but also something else, something he couldn't described. This caused him to hesitate.

"Close your eyes. It's over now." he said softly to it

The Goliath closed its eyes, and Glyph fired the shotgun, killing the Grimm. It vanished before him. The other joined him, and looked sadly at their "victory".

On the other side, The Lovers worked together to precisely strike at the Goliath's eyes. Aaron's crossbow arrows exploded with dust powers upon each contact, creating a menagerie of effects to occur on the Goliath's head.

Leilani folded her claws back to revealed wrist mounted guns, she used them with Macro's machine gun to weaken its legs. After several successful waves of attacks, as well as several dodges when the Goliath struck back, they could tell the Grimm was weakening.

"That's as good as it'll get Leilani!" called out Macro

"On it." she replied

She lowered herself onto one knee, then launched into the air with incredible speed. Everyone was taken aback by this.

"Huh, didn't see that coming." noted Aaron

"New meaning to "getting high", huh?" joked Erin

They all waited, but before they could see the result, the Goliath shook itself back to strength and released a roar that blasted them back. It then prepped itself to charge. Before it could though, Leilani crashed into it from above, crashing right into its back, causing a loud "SNAP" to be heard. The Goliath clumsily fell to the ground, and disappeared soon afterwards. Leilani sat on the ground, catching her breath from the experience she just had.

"That's a new high for me." she said exhausted

"I don't think you meant the joke you did, but it was awesome none the less." said Macro helping her up

"Yeah, you go girl." said Erin with a smile

"Very impressive." added Aaron

"Thanks," acknowledged Leilani after she dusted herself off, "let's check on the others.

The fire in the fissure disappeared, and the two groups reconnected. Leilani and Yasmine immediately checked on the other, while the rest merely chatted about what happened. Macro and Glyph went to the side though, away from them.

"This wasn't normal," said Macro stating the obvious, "Goliath are never this close to schools. They hate it, they know it'll bring trouble. And that color? That's new. What's going on Glyph?"

"I don't know." he said, then turned to look at a camera in a nearby tree, "But I think someone might."

Far away, Headmaster Night and Squire watched them with great intensity.

Much later, back at Beacon, the students are assembled as Night and Squire announced the teams. Four girls are on stage.

"...forming Team PRME. Lead by Primrose Madonna."

The girls leave the stage, claps follow as they do.

Night then looks at a list and looks to the crowd, "Next, Macro Camof, Erin Flushe, Aaron Forrest, and Leilani Kaleido. Forming Team Meal, and lead by Macro Camof."

The four happily look at each other during the forming of the team, each content with who they are with. They then leave and Night again looks at the list.

"Finally, Gryd Masterson, Reyson Heron, Yasmine Kaleido, and Diana Artemisia, forming Team GRYD. And to be led, by Glyph Masterson."

Glyph and the others look at the team they are with and have a mixing of emotions. Some content, some unsure. But they nod to their new partners and leave the stage. Now done, Knight takes center stage to address them all.

"Welcome all the new teams. You will now live together, work together, fight together, and learn together. It is through teamwork that we grow, that we evolve. I hope you do not take this lightly. Welcome to Beacon, well and truly. Your journey, begins now."

*credits*


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 - Flaws**

Soon after the team ceremony, the students were taken to their rooms. An escort guided both Team GRYD and Team MEAL down a hallway, then stopped in front of a set of doors.

"Team GRYD, you are here on the right," said the attendant in a kind manner, "and Team MEAL, you are here on the left. You will find all your belongings from the craft have been put in your rooms. You have free reign on where to put it all, just don't destroy anything."

"Party pooper." noted Reyson loudly

"You're free for the rest of the day, you'll be notified when dinner is ready. Classes begin tomorrow. Rest up, and welcome to Beacon."

The attendant left, and once alone, the two teams smiled at the other before quickly going into their rooms. Sure enough, the rooms were filled with their belongings. Some had more than others. In GRYD's room, there were several red and white bags. One's that Diana ran to with joy.

"Oh good!" she said happily, "It's all here, I was hoping they wouldn't leave one on the craft."

"How much do you need to survive, Red?" said Reyson perplexed by the amount of luggage, "What, do you have a dress for every day of the year?"

"Hardly, but I do have dresses for every occasion. Those are those bags over there."

"The rest?" wondered Yasmine

"Oh...you know...odds and ends. A girl's gotta live, right?"

She smiled before turning back to her bags. Reyson patted Glyph on the shoulder mockingly, "Your partner."

"I know." said Glyph bluntly

With a shake of the head, the rest went to their luggage to ensure everything was there. Both Glyph and Reyson had two simple bags, they were done checking quickly. Yasmine had a large square suitcase. Once opened, her clothes and other items were revealed to be perfectly packed, not a thing out of place. Diana took the longest, but eventually she got done. She turned and sat on her gear when she was finished.

"Ok, I'm done."

"About time." spat Reyson

"Hush Goldielox."

"Why you-"

"Enough." ordered Glyph, "Let's get it all situated. This is our room, let's make it look like it."

"Who takes what bed?" asked Yasmine

"Well, I think we should do it by-" started Diana with an evil smile

"Guys on the left, girls on the right," interjected Glyph, "you can choose whatever bed. No fighting."

"You are no fun."

"Nope."

Glyph looked to Reyson and pointed to the bed on their side that was closest to the door. Reyson shrugged and motioned to it. Glyph went to the bed and sat down, then began to unpack. The others did the same.

Across the hall, Team Meal was already situated in their beds, and had begun to decorate the room. The Lovers were putting up pictures of themselves together, Macro was decorating his side in military posters, and Leilani put up drawings that she had drawn. Then, she whipped out a sharpie of sorts from her chest sash and drew on the walls to connect all the pictures.

Macro saw this and nervously approached, "Uh, Leilani? I don't think they want you to draw on the walls."

"The guy said, 'free reign', just following his advice." she said with a smile

"Yeah, but that was for our luggage, that didn't mean we could write on the walls."

"Who's writing on the walls? I'm drawing on them."

"Leilani-"

"Oh let it go man," said Aaron, resting comfortably on his bed, "a little color never hurt anyway. When we're gone in a few years? They can paint over it! Problem solved."

"Besides," added Erin, "I think it'll make our place really unique. Hey Leilani, want to draw on our side next?"

"Yeah! You could connect our photos! Have it like a map of our lives."

"That sounds great!" said Leilani happily, "I'll totally do that next."

Macro looked at them all and shook his head, "Alright, I give up! I clearly am not going to win this one."

"It's nothing personal Macro, " said Erin kindly, "I just like the art. It's...freeing in a way."

"Beautifully said." said Aaron with a smile to his girl, making her blush

"Ugh, wake me when the love fest is over." Macro said lying on his bed

"That could be a while..."

"Shut up."

"On a side note, does anyone wish we had a better team name?"

"What's wrong with MEAL?" asked Erin curious

"I just suspect a lot of food puns from people with no creativity. I could already tell some of our classmates were anything but bright. It's deplorable."

"Maybe..." said Leilani looking for something in her stuff, "but it could've been worse."

"How so?" asked Macro getting up to look at her

"Well, if you rearrange the letters a little, we could've been Team LAME."

The others look at each other and realize the bullet they dodged.

"MEAL works." said Macro quickly

"Who doesn't love a good meal anyway? We're a testament to satisfaction!" said Aaron boldly and with gusto

"I've never had a problem with it." said Erin simply

Leilani laughed and headed for the door, "Good to know. I'm heading across the hall, I think one of my things got put with Yasmine's stuff, I'll right back."

She headed out the door and quickly knocked on GRYD's door. Glyph opened, up, which caused Leilani to jump a little. He eyed her curiously, which made Leilani turn away.

"Sorry to disrupt you," she said nervously, "could I talk to Yasmine?"

"Of course." he said with kindness, then turned inside the room, "Your sister is here Yasmine."

He stayed in the doorway until she came close and dismissed him, "Thank you. What do you need Leilani?"

"Oh, uh," started Leilani now reverting to her previous composure, "I think mom accidentally packed one of my kits in your bag."

"That sounds like mom. Stay here."

Yasmine went to her side of the room, Leilani's eyes drifted towards Glyph, who was hanging something on the wall. As she brought her focus back to Yasmine, she saw Diana, who was wagging her finger at her in a standoffish way. This took her aback, but Yasmine came back before she could respond to it.

"Here you go, don't know how mom deferred from my plan." said Yasmine handing her a small pouch

"It's mom," Leilani responded with a joking laugh, "she never follows plans she thinks undermine her motherly duties."

"Yeah, I know. Anything else?"

Leilani looks over her shoulder to see the others in conversation, she leans in closer, "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

Yasmine's eyes go wide, and she quickly looks over her shoulder to confirm none of them are nearby, "I'll be right back."

She grabs the door handle and slams it shut, then guides Leilani down the hallway until she reached a spot they felt were safe from eavesdroppers.

"Talk about what?" asked Yasmine bossily

"Come on sis," answered Leilani with sympathy, "don't put up your guard with me. We both know you wanted to lead your own team. You know I wanted to be your partner just so you could be my team lead! I mean, Macro's cool...but he's not you."

Yasmine sighs and smiles, "Thanks Leilani."

"No problem, and I know you thought you had leadership in the bag after that Goliath thing. So...how are you now?"

"I'm mad, I'm very mad. I feel I've earned the right to be leader, not Glyph."

"Is it because of...?"

"I don't care about his past, I base my beliefs on present actions. It was my plan that helped take down the Goliaths, both of them even! Glyph came to me for the plan. So why is he leader and not me?"

"I don't know," said Leilani sadly, "do you think he won't be a good leader?"

"I don't know. I don't know him well enough." she replied honestly

"But what do you think of him?"

"I think he's a good fighter, an adaptable one. Blunt in personality, but well meaning."

"He clearly trusts your skills, you said he came to you."

"True. Look, I am mad about this, but there's nothing I can do about it now. None that I can think of anyway."

"Just don't be too hard on yourself, ok?" begged Leilani as she got her sisters attention, "You push yourself too hard at times. They'll see how great you are, everyone will."

"Well, for both our sakes, let's hope it's easier than last time." she answered briskly before walking away

Leilani stood there for a bit, looking sadly at the ground, then shook her head and followed her sister back.

The next day, classes began. One of the first classes of the day had both GRYD and MEAL in them. As they sat in their chairs, they noticed the teachers desk was empty. The area around it though was filled with charts, maps, and even Grimm sketches. Suddenly, the door was kicked open, and a man appeared in the doorway.

"Students! Welcome to Strategy Class! I'm your teacher, Lochen Target. Pleasure I'm sure."

As he strutted down the steps, the students got a better look at him. He had white jeans and red shoes. On his torso he wore a long sleeved zip up jacket that was also red and white. His hair was shaggy in look, but had streaks of red and white going all through it. He was young, early 30's at best.

He let them soak in his appearance for a while before clapping his hands together loudly to get their attention, "Now, I'm here to teach you how to think in the battlefield, and in sparring matches. I'll be the one hosting those. Lucky you! I know what you're think, "He looks young to be a teacher!" Well, you can blame my injury for that. I'd show you the scar, but it's kind of disgusting. Moving on!"

Lochen jumped over the desk and landed perfectly in his chair, forcing it to spin in place. After a few revolutions, he stopped and looked at the class dizzily.

"So...spinny..."

He shook his head to get his bearings back.

"Anyway, I'm here to teach. You don't like me? Blame Night for bringing me here. We were classmates of a sort, and he thought I could help you all. I think he's right, whether you do or not is up to you. But I would listen to me...I do have some experience when it comes to unusual battles. Heh...heh...heh..."

The class looked around nervously, unsure of what to make of their teacher. He then clasped his hands together to their attention.

"I say we start class with a pop quiz! I need two volunteers."

At first, no one raised their hands, then Yasmine put hers into the air. Lochen saw this and smiled as pointed to her.

"It's Yasmine right? "Chessmaster"? I've heard a lot about you."

"Hopefully it was good things." said Yasmine with an interesting tone

"From the people that mattered, yes. You'll be perfect for this. Now I need someone else. Someone...different in perspective..."

He scanned the class, and then eventually landed on Glyph, "Mr. Masterson! I've heard a lot about you too."

Glyph didn't say anything, just merely looked at his teacher, who laughed in response.

"Not much of a talker, perfect. Ok, you two come down here, bring a pen and paper."

The two got up and made their way down to him. He motioned to the desk, "Ok, I'm going to ask you a question. What I want you to do is write out your response on opposite ends of the desk, then I'll read them aloud for the class. Understood?"

"Yes Professor," said Yasmine and Glyph together

"Good," replied Lochen still smiling, "very good. Alright, your question is this. You're walking down a road, and a...let's say Ursa, appears suddenly in front of you. What do you do?"

With a motion from Lochen, both Glyph and Yasmine headed for the desk. Yasmine immediately began writing her response, while Glyph simply looked at his paper. As Yasmine continued to write at a fast pace, Glyph slowly put his pen to paper and began to write. A few seconds later, he stopped and put his pen down to indicate he was done.

Yasmine noticed this and looked at him perplexed, but kept going in her own endeavors. After another minute, she put her pen down.

"I'm going to love this." said Lochen to the class, "Trust me, this will be good."

He turned and got the two papers from both Glyph and Yasmine. After about a minute, he began laughing hysterically.

"I love it when I'm right. Ok, first..."

He held high Yasmine's paper, making her become uneasy.

"We have Yasmine. Who unsurprisingly went into great detail about what she should do. In fact, she technically wrote two different scenarios based on the actions of the Grimm. I approve, thought and anticipation of potential moves is appreciated. Good job Yasmine."

He turned and winked at her, making her smile contently. Lochen then held up Glyph's paper, his smile getting wider as he did.

"As for Glyph, well...I'm just going to quote him directly."

He cleared his throat loudly, then went silent, making the class wonder what was going on.

"I don't know." Lochen quoted bluntly

This got a wide array of snickers from the class. Only a few didn't, including Macro and Diana, who knew something was up.

"You all laugh, heck, so did I. But the truth is...he's just as right as she was."

This causes the class to talk in confusion, Yasmine looked wildly from Lochen to Glyph, clear outrage in her eyes. Glyph remained focused on Lochen, his expression non-changing.

"Quiet! Quiet. Let me explain. Strategy is more than just preparation for a battle, or what you do in that battle. Strategy is about taking your own personality, and ability, and knowing what to do next. For Yasmine, her Semblance is literally her strategy, it works, it helps her make moves. Add that to her thought process of thinking many moves ahead, and she's almost always ready for battle. That works for her. In contrast, Glyph doesn't have that, so he has to plan around him and his abilities. Now you might think "I don't know" isn't an acceptable answer. But the truth is, it's as honest as anything you can ever say."

The class went quiet, for it was clear this was a true lesson. Lochen's serious expression helped seal this.

"'I don't know' means you're open to options, open to opinions. But also, open to what could happen next. I said an Ursa appears to them on the road. I didn't say it attacked them though. I didn't say it was angry, or hostile, I just said it was there. So why should Glyph know what to do? When all he's doing is looking at a Grimm? Get it?"

The students murmured at this. Yasmine looked away defeated at the explanation, Glyph remained still.

"We preach individuality here," said Lochen, still serious, "that goes to strategy too. What you do singularly, you can't do in a duo. What you do in a duo, you can't do in a four person team. You have to adapt and adjust and practice for what's to come. That's why you're in teams, and that's why you have these classes. Now, everyone other than Yasmine and Glyph, I want you to write a paper for next class about what you do if you were in a confrontation with a Grimm. This one is attacking you. And don't copy Glyph's answer! Because if you don't know what to do when a Grimm is attacking you? You're in the wrong line of work!"

Most everyone laughed at this, including Lochen himself. He turned towards his desk and gave an approving nod to Glyph and Yasmine.

"Good work you two, back to your seats."

They both nodded and headed back up. As Glyph sat down next to Macro, his friend patted him on the back in approval. When Yasmine sat back down with Leilani, her sister knew something was wrong.

"Sis?" said Leilani softly

"I don't want to talk about it. Not now." said Yasmine with no emotion, "Let's just focus on class."

Reluctantly, Leilani listened, and they all returned their attention to the lesson.

After the lesson, every leaves through the doors and splits off into the hallway. Yasmine walks faster than anyone to get out. Leilani runs in quick pursuit of her.

"Yasmine!" she cries out, "Stop!"

Yasmine avoids her at first, but Leilani uses her jumping ability to bound ahead of her and stop her against a wall. As she looks at her sisters face, she sees Yasmine's eyes are full of hatred, and she's muttering to herself.

"It's happening again...it's happening again..." she repeats to herself

"No it's not!" Leilani said pleadingly, "Lochen praised you! He liked your detail in the battle plan! Glyph gave the funny answer, that's all! Did you hear what he had to say about it?"

Yasmine stopped muttering and focused solely Leilani, her expression becoming softer.

"He admitted it was a trick question, and he said you just as right as Glyph was. No one had the better answer. This isn't like Sanctum, ok? Please calm down."

She took some deep breaths after hearing Leilani's words, and soon she regained her composure.

"I'm sorry." Yasmine said sincerely

"You have nothing to apologize for," Leilani said with a smile, "I know what this school means to you. You'll get what you deserve, but you can't these little things rile you up! This isn't like you Yasmine, you're stronger than this."

Yasmine nodded her head in agreement, "You're right, I am. Ok, ok. I'll be fine, let's get to the next class."

She smiled at her sister and moved down the hall. Leilani sighed in relief and followed her.

A few hours later, several students, including GRYD and MEAL gathered in the amphitheater. All the students waited for Lochen to arrive, and surprisingly, he simply walked in through the front doors.

"Hello students, happy to see many of you for the second time today." he said with a light tone as he approached the main stage.

Once on it though, he held out his arms wide and took a deep sniff of the air.

"Do you sense it? The tension, the anticipation, this stage I'm on, it's going to be the place where you can shine! Or, where you can fail miserably. Man, I love this part of the job."

He cackled happily as he spun in place to soak it in, but he stumbled after a bit and had to grab his left leg. Lochen winced at this but recovered.

"Any...anyway, welcome to dueling practice. You all should get used to this room and what's about to happen. For you will frequently be asked to practice here in various forms of combat."

The class murmured at this.

"Now, now, it's necessary. Because eventually, you'll be put on missions, actual missions, and these sessions are one of the best ways to ensure you're ready for what's coming. Now, given the space, you'll most often be doing 1v1 matches. But sometimes, like today...we'll be doing 2v2. On the screen over there..."

He motioned to a board that immediately lit up and showed various items and icons.

"Will be your picture and a 'health bar'. Once it get to the red? You are done, no excuses. You're fighting to win, but not to injure. Well, not too badly anyway, nothing wrong with a bruise here or there."

Lochen smiled at this and approached the students, all of whom had their eyes glued on him.

"So, who's first? Tag team match! But with a twist! No partners. Or, dedicated partners I should say, we'll keep you in your teams. So...Primrose Madonna..."

He pointed to a girl who happily stood up. She was tall, and had long straight blond hair. Her outfit was very stylish, and had an assortment of reds woven together elegantly.

"And...Elenor Rigby."

He pointed to a girl who nervously stood up. She was shorter, and had brown hair. Yet her attire was as bright as the sun itself, though her clothing was much more simple.

"Yeah, that'll work," said Lochen contently, "And your opponents? Oh...I know! Glyph Masterson and Yasmine Kaleido."

The students murmured as Glyph and Yasmine stood up. They looked at each other, then at their opponents. Primrose smiled evilly at Glyph, while Elenor tried to muster a smile, but failed.

"Ok, glaring part is over! Shall we get to the fighting?"

A few minutes later, the stage was cleared and set for the match. Glyph had his escrima ready, Yasmine pulled an object out from around her back. She clicked it and a dual sided lance emerged. Glyph eyed it curiously.

"So what's where they come from..." he muttered to himself

On the other side, Primrose wielded a poleax, which she shined up before reading her stance. Elenor though wielded two bladed tonfa on her arms. She took deep breaths as she readied herself for battle.

"Don't ruin my debut." Primose barked at Elenor

"I'll try not to." Elenor said meekly back

Lochen stepped forward and got their attention, "Remember, once you hit the red? You're done. If one of you gets eliminated before the other? That means your partner is on their own, remember that. Alright, and...begin!"

Immediately, Yasmine channeled her Semblance and began to analyze Primrose and Elenor, information began popping into her mind. She turned to Glyph after she was done.

"Primrose is good at mid range because of the length of her Poleax, I'll take her, you should take Elenor, her tonfa aren't much different from your escrima."

"Good advice." noted Glyph, "But don't lean on your Semblance from now on."

"Excuse me? My Semblance-"

"Look out!"

Yasmine turned, and reacted quickly as Primrose charged at them, swinging her Poleax. Both of them dodged and rolled out of the way. Yasmine rebounded quickly by striking at her with her lance. It connected and sent Primrose stumbling forward.

"Tell me you're better than that." said Yasmine coldly as her opponent righted herself

Primrose bared her teeth before charging again.

Glyph watched the two for a few moments, then focused on Elenor, who had not moved from her spot. He saw that she was studying him, waiting for him to make the first move. He smiled at this and bowed his head in respect. She smiled and did the same.

Now set, the two rushed at each other and did battle. Both swung their twin weapons fiercely at the other. Glyph kept special attention to the bladed end of the tonfa, but also focused on her movements. After a few back and forth flurries, Glyph spotted an opening and jabbed at Elenor with his escrima, sending out a round of dust that caused her to fall backwards. Instead of pressing the attack, he motioned for her to regain her footing and strike again. She happily accepted and charged back.

Yasmine and Primrose continued their dance as well. Primrose swung viciously with her poleax, but Yasmine would either dodge, block, or parry her attack with her lance. Several times she seemed to anticipate her movements to the very second they were launched, allowing her to react easily and counter every one of them.

The more the two battled, the more frustrated Primrose became. This caused Yasmine to smile, as she kept her gaze on her.

Meanwhile, Glyph and Elenor continued to fight in close quarters. Despite her nervousness at the outset, she was keeping up with Glyph, their weapons and strikes perfectly matching the others.

"You're good, do people tell you that?" Glyph asked as they locked weapons during a particular flurry

"No, they don't." she admitted with a sad expression

"Well they should."

She smiled at this, but then pushed him away. Glyph charged again, and she raised up her tonfa, causing him to stop and hold up his weapons to block. But nothing happened. He lowered his stance slightly and saw her smiling. Suddenly, the balled ends of her tonfa dropped down and unleashed rounds on Glyph, sending him flying backwards.

At this time, Yasmine had an advantage over Primrose, who's health bar was dangerously low. As Yasmine approached for a final strike though, Glyph crashed into her, sending both falling to the ground. Glyph recovered first and helped her up, but Yasmine pushed him away.

"What was that?" she asked angrily

"I was surprised," he answered simply, "it happens. Now let's refocus."

"Good idea, I'll use my Semblance and-"

"No. Just focus on your opponent."

"Really? Cause you seem to need help with yours."

"Do not blow this out of proportion."

"If you'd let me do my job I can lead us to-"

"Look out!"

Primrose again swung at them with her poleax, but this time, though Glyph dodged, Yasmine didn't, and got hit square in the chest. She was sent flying into the nearby wall, lowering a substantial part of her health bar.

"Yasmine!" Glyph called out concerned

Before he could check on her though, some bolts stopped him cold. Both Primrose and Elenor were approaching him. Primrose with an evil smile, Elenor with caution.

"Too bad Glyph." said Primrose with fake sympathy, "Looks like you need to get a new partner. Make next time, it won't be a Faunus."

Yasmine heard this and tried to get up, but struggled. Elenor looked at Primrose with disbelief. Glyph meanwhile became enraged. He held out one arm and dropped the escrima in it. Primrose and Elenor watched as it fell. Glyph smirked at this and vanished.

Then, in a flurry of motion, Glyph appeared and disappeared all around them, beating them senseless with his other escrima. Eventually, he stopped and caught his other weapon from hitting the ground. As he put them both away, both Elenor and Primrose fell to the ground. A buzzer sounded to indicate they were both out of the match.

Clapping filled the air as Lochen approached, "Wonderful! Wonderful! Nice job. Your winners, by GKO, Glyph and Yasmine."

The students clapped in different capacities. Glyph went over to Yasmine to help her up. She reluctantly took it.

"You ok?" he asked

"I'm fine." she replied bitterly

Elenor got to her feet first, and tried to help Primrose, but was pushed away.

"Don't you dare touch me!" Primrose shouted at her teammate, "And what the heck is a 'GKO'?!"

"Glyph Knockout." said Lochen approaching them, "I thought it was appropriate. I'm surprised that wasn't used at Signal more often, given Glyph's battle record. Weren't you in that loss column Primrose?"

She scowled angrily, while Glyph gave a little smirk.

"Anyway, good job to you all. That was quality fighting. You're all dismissed. Rest up. That goes for the rest of you too! I'll be expecting some more great fights when you return in two days."

The class began to leave. The four on the stage were the last to go, with Yasmine bringing up the rear.

A little while later, Glyph, Yasmine, along with Reyson and Diana entered their room. Yasmine sat on her bed and looked at the ceiling, while Glyph carefully began to put his things away. Reyson and Diana approached him.

"That was epic man!" said Reyson proudly, "That flurry at the end? I thought my eyes were shorting out! But no, you're just that good!"

"I agree, that was something," Diana added with a smile, "next time though, hopefully we'll get to tag it up, partner."

"Up to Lochen." said Glyph

"You were good too Yasmine!"

"You don't need to lie." said Yasmine not looking at Diana

"Who's lying? You had Primrose handled until that crash with Glyph. You would've easily won-"

"Had it not happened?! I agree!"

"What's your problem?" asked Reyson

"Me? What about him? I tried to help him during the match and he wouldn't "allow" it."

"I accepted your help at the beginning, I took on Elenor just as you suggested." stated Glyph

"Yeah, but after that? You said, "No more Semblance usage". Like that was your call to make."

"I'm the leader, that is my call to make."

"Yeah, well, I'm not content with you being our leader!"

The whole room went silent. Glyph looked at Yasmine angrily, Reyson and Diana were looking on in shock. Yasmine stood up and approached them, pain in her expression.

"You have no idea the struggles me and Leilani have had. Being Faunus in this world. Back home? In Mistral? We had to fight for every inch of good fortune. My mom and dad own a shop. They're just as good as any other person in our city. The difference? They're Faunus, so we have to work twice as hard to get sales to survive. That was my childhood, working at that shop, thinking and planning to help my family survive, trying to make it to the next week, month, year."

The room remained silent, Glyph's expression softened as he heard the story.

"Then at Sanctum? Heh. I was the best student there. Aced the classes, won the battles! But to the teachers? It didn't matter. I was a Faunus. They would "overlook" my accomplishments for their more "pure" students. I would destroy them in class and in battle, but it wouldn't matter. Every honor I earned? Mitigated. Made insignificant. So I came to Beacon, to try and get a fresh start. For I heard Night was a fair man. Believed in all races, all opportunities. But what happens? I help us survive those mutant Goliaths...and Glyph becomes leader! How is that fair? How is that right? How is that not racism? Especially after what you did to your headmaster at Signal!?"

This flared up Glyph again, and he shook with anger. But eventually, he calmed down, and calmly approached Yasmine.

"You want to be leader?" he asked simply

"Yes." she said confidently

"Then you're leader."

He began to walk away, Yasmine balked at him as he tried to leave, "Are you kidding me? This isn't a joke Glyph!"

"I'm not joking."

"You might as well be. Because everyone in this school knows how good you are, and they'll never see me as leader, even with your endorsement."

"Are you suggesting, what I think you're suggesting?" asked Reyson, and intrigued look growing on his face

"Yes. Glyph? I challenge you to combat for the right to lead GRYD."

No one moved, Glyph just looked at the nearby wall, expression emotionless. Finally, he turned to face her.

"Fine. On one condition though." he said clearly and concisely

"Name it."

"I don't use my Semblance."

"They won't take me seriously if I beat you without it!" exclaimed Yasmine

"Yes, they will. Because they know, you can't beat me when I use it. I proved that today. I will give you all I have, they will know it. I will not hold back, you have my word. If you beat me, you lead GRYD. Yes? Or no?"

Yasmine stared him down, then nodded, "I agree to your terms."

"Good. Our duel will be in two days when the class returns. Fair?"

"Fair."

"Good." said Glyph, before he walked out the door

Reyson and Diana looked at Yasmine with mixed emotions, each wondering how this had happened.

Two days later, Yasmine walked the hallway leading to amphitheater, Leilani was next to her, eyeing her sister with fear and sadness.

"You can still stop, you don't have to do this!" she said begging

"Yes I do." Yasmine replied defiantly

"What happens if you lose? Have you thought of that? What will you do then?"

"Fall in line, like they want me to. At least I'll know I'm not worthy."

"Dang it, Yasmine!"

Leilani pulled her sister around to face her, tears coming out of her eyes.

"Don't do this! You've always done this when it comes to the hate between humans and Faunus, pushed yourself to the limit to prove something that won't change things! Do you really think anyone here will look at you differently if you beat Glyph? It won't! They'll just say you're an 'angry Faunus" instead of a regular one. It won't change anything."

"Maybe. Maybe. But if I don't at least try this? I won't be able to live with myself. It's just like the store Leilani, having to go the extra mile, win or lose. Last time I checked, we won more than we lost. Right?"

She smiles at Leilani, and her sister chuckles and wipes her eyes, "Right."

"I'm glad you're here for me Leilani, but this is something I need to do. Not for you, or our family, or all Faunus everywhere. For me. I need to know I can do this, or at least try to do this. Win or lose, things will be back to how they were before. I promise. Ok?"

Leilani nods, Yasmine again smiles at her before turning and heading into the amphitheater. A few seconds later Leilani follows.

In the theater, Lochen is already there and looking at the ensemble of students.

"Well," he said clasping his hands together, "it's going to be hard topping last match, but we will try! In fact, I sense multiple matches today! So...who to go first?"

"Professor," said Yasmine standing up quickly to get his attention, "I'd like to request a match."

"Enthusiasm! Love it! Ok then, you're on. Who to put you against...?"

"I'd like to challenge someone to a match if that's alright."

Lochen looked at her curiously, but soon nodded, "Call your shot."

"I challenge Glyph."

The students erupted at this, only the members of GRYD and Leilani didn't react, but merely looked at them. Lochen meanwhile had become deadly serious in expression, especially when Glyph stood up to meet the challenge.

"Glyph," the professor said with clear intent, "while I'm fine with this, I will not enforce it. If you say 'no', you do not have to fight."

"I accept the challenge." Glyph said without hesitation

"...fine. To the stage."

Yasmine and Glyph made their way to the lower area, every student had their eyes fixed on them. Lochen especially had his gaze focused on his students. As they entered the stage area, the lights are lowered, he stepped in between them so that he can speak to them privately.

"I can guess what's going on here," he says quietly to them both, "settle what you need to. But remember, you're part of a team. Don't let this be the thing that breaks it."

"It won't." Glyph said confidently

"Agreed." said Yasmine just as confident

"Good. I'll hold you to that," warned Lochen, "begin when you're ready."

He quietly walked off the stage, the room itself becoming deadly quiet as Yasmine and Glyph drew their weapons, and readied themselves for each other.

"Win or lose," said Yasmine, "I thank you for this."

"I'm sorry this had to happen." answered Glyph

"...so am I."

Yasmine quickly activated her Semblance, and began scanning Glyph. He held still as she did so. Eventually, she stopped it and lowered her guard.

"You knew I would do that, why not try and stop it?"

"To prove a point."

She again eyed him curiously, but decided to not think too much on it. When she felt confident, she rushed him and begin swinging at him with her dual-sided lance. Glyph managed to dodge or block all of them, then began to retaliate. But to his surprise, she dodged and blocked all of his attacks. He looked in her eyes and saw that they were glowing slightly, meaning her Semblance was once again in use.

The two continued to duke it out, each wanting to land the first blow. Eventually, Glyph missed a strike, allowing Yasmine to land a combo strike with her lance. With a kick to finish it, she pushed Glyph back a few feet. Yasmine smiled as she relished the accomplishment. Glyph even chuckled at this.

"Ok," he said with a nod of appreciation, "predict this."

With a sudden move, he threw one of his escrima at Yasmine. She dodged it, but in doing so left herself wide open to attack, which Glyph capitalized on. Even with one escrima, he held his own against her, even at times grabbing the lance with one hand, while dealing damage with the other. Glyph responded to her opening attack in kind, and soon landed several hits of his own. Even returning the favor by kicking her back a few feet, which allowed him the time to grab his other weapon.

This time, it was Yasmine who smiled and laughed, "Ok, I deserved that. But now you have my full attention, and not just mine."

She pressed a button on the handle of lances, they began to shift and break apart, and soon, four drones emerged and hovered around Yasmine, who now suddenly looked a lot more confident.

"I wondered when they were going to show up." said Glyph readying his stance

"I needed them in the forest, I don't always need them in duels." she said looking at the drones, "This is one of the exceptions."

"Honored, your move."

With a motion, she sent two of them at Glyph, while the other two continued to hover around her. Once closer, the two drones opened fire on Glyph, and he had to run to avoid their bullets. Using her Semblance, Yasmine began to study Glyph, and eventually knew where he would go. With that, she opened fire with her other drones, pinning Glyph in place and making him get hit by some of the drones attacks.

Though he winced in pain, he didn't give up. Instead, he used the opportunity to jump at the drones nearest him, which caused them to break their attack. Now free, he let lose a volley on the closest one, stunning it temporarily. He quickly threw one of his escrima up, grabbed the drone, and threw it at its brother. Now both stunned, he grabbed his other escrima and used the two like bats to smack the drones away, making them land at Yasmine's feet.

She grimaced, and with a flick of her hand, recalled them and turned them back into a lance. With the others still hovering around her she charged at Glyph.

The two locked into combat, and tried to one up the other. Glyph constantly had to dodge attacks from three different angles, but he did so. Yasmine meanwhile had to deal with Glyph constantly changing his fighting style. Every time she felt she had him pinned down, he would switch things up, making her Semblance useless.

Both Yasmine and Glyph landed blows on the other, this was almost a war. One of attrition. It didn't matter how many blows one landed, it was about standing up after them.

Eventually, Yasmine's defenses opened up, and Glyph struck at her remaining drones, taking them offline. She again recalled them and reformed her other lance, combining it together to rebuild her weapon. Now united, she renewed her attack on Glyph. Blow for blow they matched each other. Yasmine had reach, but Glyph had more fluid movements. Back and forth they went, each trying to prove something to themselves, and to the other.

Glyph swiped at Yasmine with one of his escrima, then used his other one and jabbed it on the ground, making it rocket up with incredible speed. Yasmine dodged both, but it broke her concentration. This allowed Glyph to knock away her lance, and with his remaining escrima, deal the final blows that end the contest. With an uppercut from his weapon, he sent her flying into the air, and then crashing onto the ground.

A buzzer sounded, and the reality of the match set in. Glyph fell to his knees in exhaustion. Yasmine breathed heavily from the fight as well. Neither could get to their feet. Footsteps filled the air, Lochen, Leilani, Diana, Reyson, and Macro soon arrived. They checked on them both.

"You two alright?" asked Lochen concerned

"Fine." said Glyph, voice heavy from exhaustion

"Just tired." added Yasmine as Leilani and Macro helped her up

"You guys know how to put on a show." noted Lochen, still concerned, "I trust this won't be needed again?"

"No, it won't."

"Just one more thing to do." said Glyph

He shook off Reyson and went over to Yasmine, who was looking at him with a blank expression. He returned the look. But then, he grabbed her hand by the wrist, and raised her arm into the air. A clapping began, it grew louder with every passing second. Eventually, students began to cheer and whistle for both Yasmine and Glyph, even chanting their names. This made Yasmine smile, and even tear up a little.

"Thank you." said Yasmine sincerely

"You're welcome." said Glyph with a nod, "Now if you don't mind. We need a team meeting."

He lowered her arm and put his hand on her shoulder and then vanished with her. He came back a second later and did the same thing to Reyson and Diana. The others looked around frantically for them. All except Lochen, who smiled and shook his head.

"That kids got style. Alright, don't worry about them. Worry about yourselves! Because you guys have to try and top that! Who's next?"

Outside, in the grassy fields, Glyph emerged with Reyson and Diana in tow. Yasmine was resting on the ground, though was sitting up. Both Reyson and Diana were still surprised by what happened, and thus looked around to get their bearings.

"Well, that's one way to ditch class." Reyson said approvingly

"We're not ditching class," said Glyph, joining Yasmine on the ground

"Then what are we doing, partner?" asked Diana confused

"Talking things out. We can't keep doing this. Not with what needs to be done."

"'What needs to be done?'" repeated Reyson

"Why do they put us in teams? Why do it randomly? Why not just assign? Why put chance into it?" Glyph asked them

"To force bonds." answered Yasmine

"To create bonds. Ones that happen by living with one other, fighting alongside one another, or with one another."

"Poetic," said Reyson sarcastically, "but what's your point?"

"My point is this. Every single one of us has a flaw. A big one. So does every student in that school. They put us in teams, they make us have partners, so we can work past them, overcome them. Else we'll die out there."

"Again, poetic," said Diana smiling, "but you're still not making sense partner. What's our flaws?"

"I've seen you work that whip Diana." Glyph said looking at her "It is elegant, beautiful even, but you leave yourself open. A smart opponent can dodge your attacks with ease."

Diana thought about it and shrugged in agreement. Glyph then turned to Reyson.

"You, you know what your flaw is."

"My stunning good looks?" Reyson joked with an evil smile

"Your rush into battles, you don't think. You'll get yourself killed before you ever satisfy your lust for battle."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Yasmine."

"Yes?" she said, interested to hear his thoughts

"Your Semblance is a gift, a great one. But you think too many moves ahead. Focus on the immediate move, not the one minutes from now. That's how I beat you, I kept confusing you, made you see things you didn't know I could do before. You said yourself that was your only flaw, your Semblance can only show you what you know. You don't know all my styles, just like you won't know everyone's style that you face. Focus on one move at time, and you'll be near unstoppable."

Yasmine looked at the ground in quiet reflection at this. Meanwhile, Reyson got Glyph's attention.

"What's your flaw, oh wise leader?"

"Mine is similar to Yasmine's. My Semblance is a gift, but also a burden. I get...complacent...if I use it too much. I don't evolve, and that can be fatal. And before you ask, yes, it was a factor in what happened at Signal."

No one spoke at this, Glyph had never spoken about that part of his past to them before. Glyph didn't let it deter him though and again got their attention.

"Things only get harder from here. I need to know I can trust you all. I didn't want to be leader. I wanted Macro to be on my team so he could be leader. He's better suited for it."

Yasmine smirked at this, as Leilani said the same thing about her.

"But I am the leader of GRYD now, and if we're going to survive as a team, we need to trust each other. Ok? Not just in battle, but as roommates, and as friends. Please."

They each looked at each other, then slowly nodded.

"I will follow you Glyph." said Yasmine with sincerity

"You didn't even have to ask for me, partner." said Diana with a snicker

"Ah, what the heck." added Reyson after a pause, "You're some of the few who put up with me. What could go wrong?"

Glyph laughed grimly and shook his head, "A lot. But we'll deal with that when the time comes. Thank you for trusting me. I'll be sure to return that trust."

They all nodded and just basked in the silence as the team was now finally whole.

Later, long after darkness had fallen, in the Headmaster office, Night himself was looking out at the campus. A knock came at his door.

"Come in." he said firmly

The door opened, and Lochen entered, he had his childlike grin on his face as he approached him, "Been a while since I've been called to the principal's office."

"You're lucky I didn't chew you out in front of the school."

"Oh please, you're not Squire, you wouldn't have done that."

Night spun around to confront him, "What were you thinking? Allowing that match to happen? Do you know what could've gone wrong?"

Lochen's expression became more serious, "I knew exactly what could've happened, but I also knew what WOULD have happened if I didn't let them go through with it. You could tell from one look in their eyes, they needed that fight. Especially Yasmine. She felt overlooked because you assigned Glyph as leader and not her. So technically, this fight is your fault."

"Don't you dare turn this on me!" barked Night angrily

"I'll turn it on who I want to." said Lochen not backing down, "You brought me here because of my experience, not just because you felt sympathy for me. Part of my "experience", is knowing how people are thinking. I did it at school, and out there in the real world. It was part of the reason I didn't die that day. And guess what? I was right. I saw GRYD talking and laughing afterwards like they were a family, not a bunch of kids who hated each other. So I win."

"This time you did," warned Night, "next time you may not be so lucky."

"Funny thing, Kendall. The only unlucky one was you. Because I seem to recall you having such an issue with one of your members on KGHT. To my recollection, that didn't end so well, did it? Imagine what would've happened if you two got it out of your systems early on, instead of letting it stew for years."

Night's eyes bulged, and his breathing quickened. But he then hung your head in shame and looked away, "I guess we'll never know. You can go now."

"Whatever you say, Headmaster."

Lochen left the room, leaving Night alone to look at the world.

*credits*


	5. Chapter 4

GRYD Chapter 4 - Breaking Tradition

Lunch at Beacon. Students filled up the cafeteria hall, sitting with teammates and friends. Not surprisingly, the members of Team GRYD and Team MEAL sat with one another. All were discussing various things and topics. Glyph and Macro were in one discussion, Yasmine, Leilani, Reyson and Diana were in another. Bringing up the rear in joining them was the Lovers, Aaron and Erin. They laughed and giggled as they sat down at the table with the others. Which caused the rest the look at them.

"Seriously, what takes you so long to get your food every day?" asked Reyson angrily, "You're always the last to arrive!"

"My good man, when food incites great memories, how can you not pause and talk about them?" said Aaron boastfully

"What was the memory this time?" wondered Leilani, honestly intrigued

"We had chicken on our first date." said Erin happily

"That's...nice?" questioned Macro, not seeing the significance, "Hardly romantic if I may say."

"Sometimes it's not about the romance," noted Aaron, "it's about the experience. Erin had never had chicken before, so I decided to treat her."

"Seriously?" started DIana in disbelief, "You never had chicken?"

At this, Erin became uncomfortable, she averted the others gaze, "My family is particular about what I eat. So much so that, even when I went to Signal, I found myself eating those meals over and over again. It wasn't until I dated Aaron that I branched out in my palette."

"I showed her a whole new world...of food!" Aaron said with a proud laugh, which made Erin smile, and the others to roll their eyes

Reyson in particular shivered at their interactions, and focused back on his food, "If dating makes me look like you two? I'll pass."

"That would usually require having some that liked you, and was willing to date you." said Yasmine piercingly

The others played up the burn, even making noises and nudging Reyson. To Yasmine's surprise, he smiled.

"Joke's on you, I have had girls like me."

"What happened to them?"

"I...scared them away. I guess they didn't like the "real me"."

"You mean the fighter?" posed Leilani

"More like the, The Berserker." corrected Diana

"Barbarian." added Yasmine with digust

"Bloodthirsty." threw in Macro with a laugh

"...Reyson." finished Glyph

Reyson showed his "appreciation" by giving them a slow clap, "Thank you so much. Love the support."

"Truth hurts Reyson, you can't change who you are." stated Diana with a pat on the shoulder to Reyson

The conversations began anew, but this time Erin didn't partake at first. Her eyes looked sadly upon her food, the words "you can't change who you are" echoed all around her.

Later that day, the two teams attended a new class. The room was much brighter, though the seats were still staged so the teacher could see all of them. Around the main desk were maps of the four main kingdoms, as well as various pictures of major buildings, including the other academies around the world.

The students waited patiently for their teacher to arrive. Sure enough, the doors opened slowly, and a woman walked calm down the stairs. While at first the students didn't react to the teacher's appearance, their eyes soon went wide, and they began to talk with one another in whispers. For behind the woman, was a large orange and black fox tail.

The woman herself was dressed in a business like outfit. A suit of sorts, but one that had a very elegant tone. It too was orange, but interwoven with black to perfectly match her tail. Her hair was also black, yet her eyes were bright orange. She went to her desk and proceeded to her chair. As she straightened herself up to sit, she spread out her arms, and her tail sprang up and wrapped around her shoulders. To which, she smiled and then sat down.

Still not looking at the students, she pulled out a clipboard from her desk, and a pen from a nearby cup. Then, she looked over the papers in the clipboard, scanning them with quickness. Finally she lowered the clipboard and pen down and raised her head to the class.

"Good afternoon class." said the woman kindly, but with emphasis

"Good afternoon." the class replied back

This caused her to smile, "You're surprised no doubt. You've been here almost a week, and yet you've gotten a new class? Well, I was away on important business, and only got back yesterday. So I apologize for that, but, I won't apologize for making you take this class, for this is a very important one. For here, you will learn more and more about the world you live in. This is culture class, sorry if that's a shock."

Some students snickered at this, catching the joke she made. The woman nodded in appreciation.

"Thank you for that, you'd be surprised how many don't get that joke. Now, introductions. My name is Vixi Tod, and yes, I'm a Faunus. Feel free to speculate what I did to get this position, but I think the answer is simple...I know Headmaster Night."

Another snicker commenced throughout the class, however, this time, there was all some venomous looks shot at Vixi, she saw them and stood up, and headed to the front of her desk.

"I know that some of you may not like Faunus, that's your right. I would never try and force you to change that. However, know this, I will not tolerate disparaging remarks, slurs, or any other kind of hateful acts towards me or your Faunus classmates. Or for that matter...your human classmates. Equality and all that."

She laughed, and some students joined her. With a wave she calmed them all down.

"This is one thing we'll be talking about in this class. The relations between nations, and the relations between people and Faunus. All are important to know as you become full-fledged Huntsman and Huntresses, as changing cultures, changing political climates, tensions between the beings of that land are all valuable information for you to know. You need knowledge for what's to come, I want to help give it to you."

The students talked amongst themselves at this statement, the whispers and murmurs filled up the room. Vixi allowed this for some time, until she again raised her hand to calm them down.

"That's good," she said pleased, "talking is important in this class. Though you will have homework, one thing I encourage is debates, interaction, seeing how one persons views challenge another's. While knowledge is important, knowing when to share yours is just as important. Not everyone out there in the world is good, or will believe what you say is true."

She turned and went back to her desk chair, and again sat down in it.

"I think that's a big enough monologue, don't you? Let's take attendance and begin class, officially this time."

Vixi read off the list of students, each one calling out to state they were present. Once done, she flipped the paper and began her lesson.

An hour passed, with Vixi going on about the various histories of the four nations. While many listened intently to her passionate explanations, others became bored. One student was sleeping, and slightly snoring. Vixi noticed, and threw a crumpled up piece of paper at him, waking him up violently, and causing the class to laugh at him.

"No sleeping in class." she said calmly, "For those who think that's all I'll be willing to do to wake you up if you fall asleep? Well, let's just say I'm quite clever in my techniques. Clever like a...fox."

She swished her tail around to nail the joke, and the class laughed. Once done, she continued her lesson.

As time went on, Vixi stopped her lesson and addressed the class specifically.

"So, now you know basic history. Very basic in fact, but even the basics can help. History is important when it comes to culture, as it influences what people do, say, even treat as tradition. For some, tradition is just as important as eating, or breathing. It's a part of them, to their core. It influences both them and those around them."

Erin shifted in her chair at the statement, Aaron looked at her as she did, but couldn't get a word in before Vixi continued.

"Therefore, your first assignment, which I'd like you to start right now, is to tell me what the culture of your family is."

"What do you mean by "culture of your family"?" asked one student

"Good question," she replied honestly, "the answer is simple. What are your traditions? What does your family do when you're together? Do you watch television? Do you play games? Do you read? Go for a stroll around your hometown? Meet with other families? What is it that makes your family...your family. You don't have to tell me everything, but show me an insight into your lives. You'd be surprised what I can learn about you from what you tell me about your families. You have 20 minutes left in class, get started."

With that, the class began to write, each one talking about their lives and their families. All except for Erin. She sat looking at the paper, not sure how to explain what her family was like. At times she would put her pencil to the paper to begin writing, but would hesitate and pull it back. After several minutes, she still hadn't written a thing.

"Having trouble Ms. Flushe?" asked a voice behind her

Erin turned to see Vixi smiling kindly at her, to which Erin looked at her paper ashamed, "I'm sorry, I'm just...just..."

"Struggling? Yeah, I can tell. Hard to describe your family? Or...hard to describe without feeling pain?"

Erin whipped her head back around at her comment, her expression surprised. Vixi nodded and leaned in so only she could hear her.

"I understand, more than you think. This paper isn't going to be graded, just write what you feel comfortable with. Ok?"

Erin nodded gratefully, Vixi smiled at her, then went back to her stroll around the classroom. Minutes later, the class was over, and the students exited. Vixi watched them all as they left.

"Interesting class." she said with an emotionless face, then proceeded back to her chair.

Outside, many students relaxed as they had time off from work and classes. Several members of GRYD and MEAL took part in this, including Glyph, Macro, Diana, and The Lovers. Though each had their own relaxing mechanism. Glyph and Macro practiced battle moves on one another, with Diana watching with deep interest. The Lover sat under a tree and just talked to one another, their arms wrapped around their partner.

Soon, Leilani joined them, sitting next to The Lovers under the tree, and taking a minute to catch her breath.

"Did you run all the way here?" asked Aaron curious

"Yeah, didn't want to lose a minute of relaxing," said Leilani after a moment, "I wasted enough time trying to get Yasmine to come out. I should've known better."

"Studying? Doing homework?" wondered Erin with a sad smile

"That's my sis. She did this at our last school too. It helps her get grades. Friends? Not so much. We only had each other back then."

"Sounds familiar..." teased Aaron, with a poke to Erin, who smiled and giggled

"You two not popular at Signal? That seems unlikely."

"Context is everything. We had friends to be sure, but, we're...odd...in some ways."

"Not that I mind those oddities." noted Erin

"Likewise."

The two again giggled, causing Leilani to shake her head in confusion, "Whatever you say, you had it better than me and Yasmine, that's for sure."

"Faunus hatred?" asked Erin, her sad expression returning

"Yeah. We had to stick together, it's one of the reasons we're so close. We're a package set. Oh! Which reminds me. Erin, you have a package in the room."

Erin turned from Leilani to Aaron, then back to Leilani, "I do?"

"Yeah, it was big too. You weren't expecting anything?"

"No...I wasn't."

She became very curious about this, then rose up and turned to the school, "I'm going to go check it out. I'll be back!

With haste, she raced away, even holding up her kimono so her legs could get more distance. As she did, Aaron approached Leilani, his expression very serious.

"Leilani," he said, getting her attention, "did you see who the package was from?"

"No." said Leilani after thinking about it, "I could tell it was from Vale though, I saw the special stamp. Maybe it's from her parents? That would explain the size."

Aaron became quite afraid at this, "Oh dear...oh dear."

"What? What's wrong?"

"It's hard to explain, I have to go check on her. Don't tell the others about the package. Ok?"

Leilani nodded, and Aaron bolted away. She watched him race toward the school, then turned to the others, who were still focused on Glyph and Macro's battle. When it was clear they didn't see this interaction, she turned her attention back to the school.

"What is going on?"

Aaron raced through the hallways, bounding off of walls, and dodging anyone who was in his path. His expression full of fear, yet with a desire to get to his destination. Finally, he reached his room. He burst through the door, and to his dismay, Erin was looking at an open package, tears in her eyes.

"It was them, wasn't it?" he asked, knowing the answer

"Yes," she replied softly, "they just couldn't help themselves."

He walked fully into the room, and approached the rather large box. Though it was stacked, he could tell it was filled with various items, trinkets, and even a banner. Aaron shook his head as he saw it.

"Man, they're the limit."

"It gets better, check out the note they sent."

Aaron looked down, and saw there was a note in her right hand, her hand clenching it tightly. Erin handed it to him, and he flattened it a bit so he could read it.

"Daughter...wait, seriously?" Aaron blurted out angrily, "They still don't call you Erin? I could never understand why they call you that."

"Tradition." she answered, still sad

Shaking his head again, he continued, "We went to put some stuff in your room, and found you had left many things of importance behind. We're very disappointed that you didn't take these heirlooms and place them in your new room. While it may be true, that you share your room with others, this does not mean you shouldn't display the proud traditions of your family. We have them all contained in this box. Should we come and visit, we expect to see them. Do your family proud."

Aaron read this a few times, then crumpled up the paper and threw it against a wall. Erin just sat on the ground, staring at the box.

"They just don't understand." Erin spoke out, pain in her voice

"I know," Aaron replied, joining her on the ground, "some people are just rooted in their ways."

"Yeah, I just wish they'd see it wasn't my way."

"I know, they will eventually, they'll have to."

He playfully nudged her, but this didn't snap her out of her funk. Aaron looked around the room, looking for anything that would help Erin. He saw a picture of Leilani's of two people dancing, and lit up.

"Did I ever tell you how I first saw you? Not our first meeting, the first time I saw you."

Erin looked up and thought about it, then turned to him, "No, I don't think you have."

"Good!" he said happily, "I was saving it for a special occasion. You see, when I first saw you, it was at Signal, not exactly a surprise, but it was what I saw that made it special."

"Stop teasing," she said with a small smile, "just tell me."

"Right. Well, I was wondering the campus, just going over things in my head like I was taught, and I looked into the open field we had."

"I loved that field."

"I know. You see, it was raining that day, most everyone was inside. I didn't mind it, and it felt too congested inside, so I took a stroll. But when I looked out in the field...I saw you."

She smiled widely at this, and nodded her head in acknowledgement, realizing what he was recalling.

"You were just standing there, in the rain. You weren't even in your kimono, you were in more casual clothes. And you just stood there, in the rain, letting it wash over you and your pink hair. And then..."

"I began to dance."

"You began to dance. I just watched you for a while. It looked at times that the water itself was dancing with you. I know Diana is an elegant person in her steps, but that dance you did could give her a run for her money. It was...it was beautiful. I was sad when you were done. You didn't even know I was there. So you just walked away. But I knew, I knew I had to meet you personally. So I did, and I haven't regretted it."

Erin giggled and smiled at this, then rested her head against Aaron's shoulder, "I'm lucky to have you."

"Funny," noted Aaron, laying his head on hers, "I always say that about you."

The two happily sat there for a while. Then Aaron grabbed Erin's hand, and forcefully pulled her up, then put her close to him. She was confused at first, but then relaxed as he grabbed her other hand, and put his other hand on the small of her back.

"Enough wallowing around. Let's dance."

"Lead the way."

With Aaron humming a slow tune, the two began to dance around the room. Their eyes locked onto one another, just enjoying the moment of being together. Without a care in the world they continued to dance around.

A few days later, classes resumed, and once again the teams found themselves in Vixi's class. She went into great detail about the other realms and their cultures this time around. Talking about the governments, their power structures, and how it usually affects the common folk, both human and Faunus. As time wound down, she stepped in front of her desk to talk to the students.

"Ok class, your next assignment is simple, regale me with what you learned about the four kingdoms. I want a page describing each one. I'll let you pick the details, but prove to me that you listened. Your grade depends on it."

The bell rang, and the students began to leave.

"Ms. Flushe! A word please."

Erin stopped and looked at Vixi concerned. Aaron, Marco and Leilani all added to that concern with looks of their own. Vixi picked up on this and waved them down.

"I just want to talk to her about her paper, she's not in trouble. Go on you three. She'll be out soon."

Slightly relieved, but still curious, the others gave Erin looks of support as they left. Aaron was the last to leave, but a look of confidence from Erin allowed him to move on. Now alone, Erin walked down the steps to her teacher, who was looking at her amused.

"Some nice friends you got there." she said with a smile

"Teammates stick together right?" replied Erin, "I like having them."

"Indeed, more than your family it seems."

Erin's eyes went wide as Vixi reached behind her and pulled out Erin's report about her family traditions. After making sure Erin noticed it, she turned it around and read it herself.

"My family is a proud user of tradition, from our home, to our meals, to our looks, we are the proud embodiment of tradition."

She put down the paper, her expression now sad. Erin's matched it, and she looked away from her teacher.

"Erin, one of my gifts, is to see what people mean when they write things. I used to do it with my father in the notes he would give me. I got really good at it. You see, every pen stroke is an emotion. You can tell if a person is a hurry, or how they're feeling, or even if they mean what they say in what they write."

Vixi held up the paper, making Erin look at it again.

"When you wrote 'proud', it had a dual meaning, didn't it? Your parents are proud of it, but you not so much. You're imprisoned by tradition, aren't you?"

"Yes." Erin replied without hesitation

"I see. Do you defy their traditions?"

"If I think I can, then yes. But most times no."

"So...is the person I see before me Erin? Or your parents child?"

"I...I don't understand." said Erin confused

"Yes you do. You wrote about how your mother wears a kimono. You wear one too. You talked about how your father, and his father, both used Naginatas as weapons, now you have one. So I ask again, is this person before me Erin, or your parents child?"

The two locked eyes, one searching for answers, the other searching for truth. Erin fumbled to speak, often exhaling sharply in impulse, until she shouldn't stay still any longer.

"I don't know.

"I see," said Vixi, walking back behind her desk, "it's not an answer that can come from a question I suppose. But an answer that must be found within. If my father taught me one thing? It's this: "don't be afraid to break tradition when it comes to what the heart wants." Think about that, ok?"

Erin became confused at this, but nodded. Vixi smiled to put her at ease, then motioned that she could leave. Erin did so hesitantly at first, but then fully left.

Hours later, Erin sat alone in her teams room. On her bed with her, was the box of items sent to her from her parents. She looked at it with great sadness, but also, a sense of confusion.

"Who am I supposed to be?" she whispered to herself

"Erin?" called out a voice

Erin looked up, and in the doorway was Leilani, looking at her friend with great concern. Erin put on a brave face when she saw her.

"Hey Leilani, what's up?"

"I...wanted to check on you. You've been off all day since class with Ms. Tod."

"Yeah, I guess I have."

"Does it have to do with what's in the box?"

"Yeah, I guess it does."

Erin looked back to the box, Leilani came into the room, and joined her on the bed. She then carefully started looking through the items.

"So...this is something interesting stuff. I knew a person back home who had similar things." said Leilani as she looked through the items

"I'm not surprised," revealed Erin, expression back to sad, "they're very traditional items. Many families across the kingdoms have similar items. They consider it a duty to pass them down through the generations."

"You don't like them, do you?"

Erin hesitated at this, but then shook her head, "No, I don't. I never understood my families traditions, but I went along with them. Then I started to act out, and I was scolded, sometimes very harshly. I didn't understand, why wouldn't they let me...be me? I thought it was something I did, that I was upsetting them in some unknown way. Then I realized, it was just that they were so rooted in their traditions, that they couldn't believe in anything new. Even if that was their own daughter that brought it."

"I'm so sorry. Did they not want you to be a Huntress?"

She laughed at this, "Oh no, they were all for it. Thankfully, I naturally wanted to be a Huntress. But not for the reasons my parents think. I saw it as a chance for freedom, they saw it as a way to continue their traditions. Even my fighting style is based on what they did at school. That box? They made sure I took the stuff inside when I went to Signal. I tried to leave it behind when I came here, and so they sent it, along with a scathing letter."

"Harsh." noted Leilani looking back at the items

"Yeah. My parents want me to be their legacy, but only their legacy, any deviation, and I'm punished. You should've seen their reaction to my hair."

"They don't like your natural color?"

At this, Erin laughed louder than ever before, even causing herself to cry with tears of joy. This confused Leilani, who looked at her more puzzled than ever before. Eventually, Erin calmed herself down.

"I'm...I'm a natural blond. I dyed my hair pink in an act of rebellion. My only successful one might I add."

"I would never have known, it looks natural."

"This is Remnant, and my boyfriend has green hair, so..."

Leilani clasped her hand over her mouth in shock, and lowered it to reveal a hurt expression, "Do they not like Aaron?"

"That's complicated. I think they like him, but it's hard to tell. He fits their "mold" in some ways. Aaron is smart, in the "right" way. He's proper in his manners, and he knows of much of the traditions of my family. So he knows how to charm them. In truth? I have no idea what they think. But I don't care though, I know he loves me, he's the only reason I smile anymore...before I met you all of course!

They share a laugh, but soon go quiet. Erin looks at Leilani and grows a longing expression on her face.

"I envy you Leilani," she admitted, motioning to her outfit, "you literally wear your personality on your sleeves, and pants...and arms. I've never had the courage to do that. At times, I don't know who I am, or even, who I want to be."

"Be you." said Leilani with a comforting smile, "That's all you need to be."

"That used to be easy, but I'm not sure that Erin is there anymore. Even with Aaron, I find myself being my parents child, rather than trying to be me."

"Then let's help get you back there! We'll start small, build it up, you'll be your own person before school is out. Guaranteed!"

Erin looked at Leilani with a smile, she saw that Leilani truly meant it, and was even eager to help. Her gaze then went to Leilani's drawings. All different and unique, showing the depths of her creativity. One in particular caught her eye. She got off the bed and went over to it. After pulling it down, she held it to Leilani.

"This you?" she asked

"I wish!" Leilani answered with a laugh, "It's a dream outfit. I can sew to a degree, and was wondering what I would love to look like one day, when I'm a full Huntress. This attire is fine for now, but we all have to change our garb someday, right?"

Erin took back the picture and looked at it. Her eyes narrowed as she studied it. Leilani watched curiously as Erin's gaze bore into the picture. Finally, she lifted her head from the picture and looked to Leilani.

"You up for drawing something for me?" Erin asked with clear intent

"Sure!" replied Leilani happily, "You know me, artists mind never rests! What do you want me to draw?"

"Something...special...and maybe...very special..."

The next day, various students, including GRYD and MEAL, clamored into the amphitheater. Lochen was again primed and ready for competition.

"So, shall we begin?" he asked, and got mixed reactions from the students, causing him to frown "Wow, love the enthusiasm. Just for that, dealers choice first!"

He selected two students, and they went downstairs to fight. Several matches followed, each one being dissected by Lochen afterwards, going after what was good, and what wasn't. After many matches, Lochen looked pleased, and again turned to the body of student before him.

"Ok, one last match. I'm thinking...people who haven't fought yet. There can't be too many left. Raise your hand if you haven't fought yet in a 1v1 or 2v2 battle?!"

Of the precession, eight students raised their hands, this caused Lochen to raise his eyebrows, "Wow, I apologize. I'll be sure you'll have been cycled in before the end of next class. But for right now, only have time for one. So let's see...how about...Rita Garnet and...ah, Erin Flushe. Ladies, come on down."

The two rose up, and after some words from their teammates, proceeded down to the stage for battle. Once on the stage, Erin readied her naginata, then observed her teammate. She was a tall girl, with very tanned skin. She wore a headband around her head, with a feather protruding out of it. Her garb was a mix of fashionable attire, but with a practical style. For example, she had friend on her sleeves, but they were a good length, and thus covered her full arms. Rita had dark brown hair, while her outfit with a mix of browns and reds. In each hand was a intricate tomahawks.

"Don't expect me to go easy on you because you're a girl." noted Rita readying herself for battle

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Erin confused

"Oh...uh, nevermind, let's just battle."

Still confused, but happily accepting the offer, Erin prepped her naginata, and went into a battle stance. Lochen hopped onto the stage, then turned to the audience.

"Alright, last battle of the day. Let's see what these ladies can do. Have at it girls, begin!"

A buzzer sounded, and the two dashed towards the other. Once in range, Erin thrust her naginata forward, then proceeded to slash at Rita with very precise strikes. Despite her skill, Rita was able to dodge or block them. This allowed her to get into closer range, and then return the strikes with her tomahawk.

Erin was no slouch though, and she begin to dodge and block as well. Even using her naginata's long handle to absorb the attacks. The two went back and forth, both trying to get the upper hand on the other. In the crowd, Aaron watched the fight with extreme nervousness. His hand gripping the rail he was standing behind.

"Shine your light Erin!" he shouted

Hearing this, Erin smiled, and after dodging an attack, thrust a now empty hand into Rita's face. This caused her to stop and just look at it confused, as Erin stopped it an inch from her face.

"Don't blink." joked Erin

With sudden intensity, Erin's hand began to glow, it soon became too bright to look at, causing Rita to back up in shock. She tried to rub her eyes, but she was blinded. Taking the opportunity, Erin unleashed a flurry of strikes. Ending it with a massive slice from her naginata, sending Rita flying backwards.

Taking a breather, Erin looked up at the scoreboard and saw that Rita was down to half health. She turned to her opponent to see her getting back up, her eyes still askew, but beginning to return back to their true state.

"Ok, that was good," admitted Rita angrily, "now for my party trick."

Rita let out a battle cry, then began to shake her tomahawks in her hands. Erin watched as she did, but then was taken aback when the tomahawks began to multiple in Rita's hands. While she started with two, it soon became four, then six. Now armed to the teeth, Rita began to chuck her weapons at Erin. Reacting quickly, she blocked them, and knocked them out of the way. But Rita kept creating new ones to throw.

Erin became so focused on blocking them, that she failed to notice Rita getting closer. Once in range, she struck at Erin with great intensity. Nailing her in the arms, legs, and even one shot square in the chest. With a kick, she knocked Erin to the ground, leaving her groaning in pain.

"Looks like my trick is better than yours. Anything else you got to show? Or you going to stick to what you got?"

Hearing this, Erin grimaced and got up. Her hands shook with fear, though she didn't know why. Doubt began to creep in her.

"Do it Erin!" cried out a voice, Erin recognized it as Leilani, "Do it! You're ready!"

Erin bowed her head in joy, then jabbed her naginata into the ground, making it stand upright.

"Your right, let's change it up," said Erin, beginning to undo her kimono

"Uh...what are you doing?" asked Rita, now very uncomfortable

"Breaking tradition."

Once her central strap on her kimono was loose, she threw it away, then grabbed her kimono and threw it into the air. Gasps filled the room, and Rita's jaw dropped as Erin revealed to have another outfit under her kimono.

This was one very stylish, and very new age. It glittered, and sparkled, and shined as bright as her hands did during her Semblance. It was a mix of pinks, greens, and even some blues. All combining to make one very unique outfit. It was also much tighter, and less restrictive. To finish the look, she flicked her braid to the other side of her body, and picked up her naginata and held it behind her shoulders.

"New look, new game," said Erin now more comfortable, "let's go."

Rita was still stunned, but was able to focus enough to get back into battle position. With a smirk, Erin again rushed forward, but this time used her naginata to spring over Rita, catching her off guard, and allowing Erin to land some strikes before she could recover.

Though surprised, Rita rebounded with her Semblance, forcing Erin back onto the defensive. However, Erin kept her cool, and used her new mobility to dodge and weave around them in ways she couldn't before. To counter, she focused her semblance onto not only her hands, but her outfit, shining out lights in nearly every direction. She became a fighting strobe light. The randomness of her lights confused Rita, even blinding her at some points, each time allowing Erin more and more strikes.

Eventually, Erin saw a big opening, and released a volley of jabs and thrusts, until she knocked Rita to the ground with a kick, and pinned her naginata blade on her neck.

"Yield." said Erin

Rita tried to resist, but knew she couldn't, "I yield."

A buzzer sounded to show the match was over, and after releasing Rita, Erin helped her up. Though clearly disappointed, Rita kept looking at Erin's outfit.

"Nice...nice look."

"Thanks, a friend made it for me."

With a smile, Erin went to grab her kimono, then left the stage, and headed out of the theater. To her surprise, the rest of her team was waiting for her.

"That was a great match Erin." said Macro honestly

"I'm glad the outfit held up!" proclaimed Leilani, "I know we were worried about it when we made it."

"It was great Leilani," said Erin graciously, "and the idea to use the my Semblance through it? That was brilliant."

"I thought it would work, and it did! New tactics! Ha, ha, ha."

"Everyone has to evolve in battle," noted Macro with a smirk, "I think this evolution is even better though."

The three laughed, but then Erin noticed that Aaron was still looking at her, but hadn't said anything. His face was emotionless.

"Aaron? Everything ok?" she asked worried

"Depends." he said simply, "Does your outfit change your personality as well as your look?"

"No! I mean, I'm going to be different for sure, acting more like me, rather than what my parents want. I'm just...being me, for the first time in the longest time."

Aaron continued to stare, then smiled and laughed, "That's all I needed to hear. Just wanted to be sure I didn't lose my girl."

"Never."

He held out his arms, and she happily ran into them. Leilani made a pleased noise, while Macro rolled his eyes and shook his head. Once they separated, Aaron grabbed Erin's hand, then took a more serious look at her.

"I do like the new outfit, I can see your true personality in it. Very "girl in the rain"." he said approvingly

"Ironically, it was that story that helped inspire it." revealed Erin happily, "So thank you."

"My pleasure. So what are you going to do with the kimono?"

Erin looked at it unsure. Then cracked a smile and draped it back over her, even tying on the strap to secure it. This caused to become a bit worried, but she smiled even wider and waved them down.

"Don't worry, I'm not reverting, but in truth, I always liked the kimono. It just wasn't what I wanted all the time. Once I'm fully...well, me, I'll lose it. But for now, I don't mind wearing both. And heck, it'll be great for battle strategy, having two different styles to use. That'll throw my opponents off balance!"

They all got a laugh out of this, and Erin looked at herself with pride and contentment.

"Change is good, but it doesn't need to happen all at once. This was a good first step. Now? It's time to start letting Erin shine through once again."

"Can't wait." said Aaron with clear love

The two held hands again, then along with Leilani and Macro headed down the hallway to rejoin their other friends.

*credits*


	6. Chapter 5

**GRYD Chapter 5 - Signs From The Past**

The new students of Beacon huddled into the amphitheater. But this time, it wasn't for combat, rather, it was to listen to Headmaster Night, who had called them all there. All teams were present, including GRYD and MEAL, who chatted amongst themselves while they waited.

Soon, Squire stepped onto the stage, and got them all to quiet down. Once he did, he motioned offstage, and Night stepped into the spotlight.

"Hello everyone," he said kindly, and the students replied with a similar greeting, "I know it's been a rough few weeks. The beginning of a new school can be very trying, however, I feel you have adjusted well. And outside of some small squabbles, and a very odd painting prank...

Reyson snickered at this, but was silenced by a look from Glyph.

"...you have all behaved as good students should. Now, I also know you have felt rather confined during your stay. This was intentional. First, I needed to know you could adjust to the school, and the rules within. But also, I needed to know I could trust you to leave when granted permission. I feel you have done that."

The students murmured with anticipation, Night allowed them to talk, then raised a hand to silence them.

"As you all know, we are technically located within the city of Vale, one of the crown cities of Remnant. As such, students are allowed to roam there on occasion when allowed. Now that you are all accustomed to the school, I see no reason not to allow this. Starting today, you will be allowed to go to Vale-"

The students erupted in excitement, forcing Night to stop. He looked to Squire, who snickered and shook his head. Night did similarly, and then once again quieted them down.

"Yes, yes," he said still laughing, "it's all very exciting. However! There are rules to go along with this. You can only go on specific days, and at specific times. Vale is a very large city, there is a lot going on there at any given moment. I have contacts in the city that inform me when major events are going on, and when students shouldn't come. I expect you to follow the rules I'm about to give you. If you don't...well...let's just say...you'll be praying for extra homework rather than what I'll have you do."

At this, the students became very quiet, each imagining a different horror they may be asked to commit if they were caught doing wrong. Macro and Glyph looked at each other and laughed softly, realizing the tactic Night was using.

Content with the reaction of the students, Night continued, "Rule one, as stated before, only go to Vale when you are allowed. Rule two, obey the curfew we set. Rule three, do not partake in any illegal actions while in Vale. I mean it. Rule four, do not start unnecessary fights."

Night's eyes seemed to dart to Reyson as he finished, Reyson saw this and smiled evilly.

"Finally, though Vale is a well regarded city, it can be still be dangerous. Thus, no one is allowed to roam the city alone. I don't care if it's home town, no going alone. Those are the rules. Remember, going to Vale is a privilege, not a right. If I feel any team is abusing that right? I'll revoke your ability to go, period. Now, I've talked long enough, and the day is still young. No classes are set for today, so, I release from the bonds of this castle. Have fun, and behave, dear students. Remember, we are always watching."

We a smile and a laugh, Night and Squire left the stage, leaving the students to talk amongst themselves about the trip they were all going to take.

GRYD and MEAL huddled together to talk about what they were going to do.

"Vale! Awesome!" said Leilani excited, "I've always wanted to go and see it in more detail. I hear the city is huge!"

"It is pretty big," noted Erin, "it's a very diverse city."

"Yes," boasted Aaron, "it's has a massive port for people from Vacuo and Atlas to come in from. It has a business district, a coliseum, and more! It is a testament to architecture of all kinds!"

"Stop boasting." said Diana with a shake of the head, "But seriously, we are going, right? I mean, let's enjoy ourselves! Take on the town! I might even let you buy me something, partner."

She smirked at Glyph, who rolled his eyes and shook his head. He then focused his attention on Macro, giving a look of wanting his opinion. Macro saw this and shrugged.

"I'm all for it. After everything that's happened so far? I think we all need a break. Do some shopping, get some fun food. Relax."

"Yeah...relax..." Reyson mocked, his finger running along a drawn sword

"Do not get us into trouble." warned Yasmine, glaring at him, "I will make you pay if you do."

"You are like the worst partner, ever."

"Funny, I say the same about you every day."

The two glared at the other, Leilani and Glyph broke them up.

"Enough." said Glyph forcefully, and they reluctantly broke up, "I'm fine with going. As long as you all want to go."

He turned to them, and they all nodded in their own way. With a sigh, Glyph smiled and shrugged.

"Alright then, off to Vale."

With a motion, the two teams headed for the door. Once outside, they were guided to a small transport, which they rode right into the edge of the city.

As they stopped and exited the vehicle, the driver turned to them, "This will be the pickup for the ride back to the school as well. There will be multiple crafts here every 15 minutes. So if there's not one here when you arrive, just wait a little. We'll be here."

"Thank you." Glyph said to the driver

"No worries. Oh, one last directive from Headmaster Night. You cannot return to the school alone, you must be with one other, or with your team. Understood?"

"Understood." they all replied

The driver waved goodbye and restarted the transport, then left. Once out of sight, the teams turned to the city. It was still early morning, so the sun shined brightly on all the buildings, showing the life the city had to offer. As they headed onto one of the main streets, they saw the many citizens of Vale. Much like them, they were of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Both Humans and Faunus were among the people. Glyph smiled at this, as did some of the other.

Not long after their people watching, Diana turned to them all and got their attention.

"So, how are we going to do this?" she asked eagerly, "I want to enjoy this day, so let's get started!"

"Yeah!" added Leilani just as eager, "So how are we splitting up?"

The group turned to Glyph and Macro, who both raised their hands in a sign of not making a decision on this matter.

"Hey, I relent to you guys." said Macro, "I'll follow whatever group wants me. Or if you all go off in pairs? I'll hang out with Glyph, no worries."

"Likewise." agreed Glyph, "Decide amongst yourselves."

The rest looked at one another and shrugged, then huddled more closely together.

"Well obviously...," started Aaron, voice full of pride, "I'm going to be with Erin. What do you want to do first?"

"Well, I was thinking we could do some shopping." stated Erin after a moment's thought, "I was thinking I could add some special decorations to my room, as well as my new attire. If we find something good that is."

"That sounds like fun!" exclaimed Leilani, "Mind if I come with?"

"Not at all! I'd love to talk designs with you!"

The two smiled at each other and laughed, which made Aaron seem very proud. Leilani then turned to Yasmine.

"What do you say sis? Want to come with?"

Yasmine sighed, but then saw Reyson looking around, a fiery look in his eye, and turned back to her sister, "It has been a while since we went shopping together Leilani, it could be fun."

"Alright! What about you Diana?"

"Shopping does sound fun..." admitted Diana, but then got a sly look on her face, "but I fear what'll happen if we leave the majority of the boys to their own devices, so I'll go with them."

She shot a knowing look at Leilani, who was confused by what she saw, then proceeded to walk past them and stand next to Glyph, who didn't acknowledge her as she came.

Seeing the tension growing, Erin quickly turned to Reyson, "What about you Reyson?"

Reyson was still watching the street, a desire in his eyes.

"Reyson?"

He heard Erin this time and snapped to, he shook his head to focus himself and turned to them.

"Well, something tells me these two..." he said grimly pointing to Macro and Glyph, "won't want me too far out of their sights. Right?"

"Right." said Glyph and Macro seriously

"Exactly, so I'll likely have to be with them the whole day."

"You could just say you'll be on your best behavior." suggested Aaron

"Yeah, they'll believe that." he replied sarcastically

"Try!"

Reyson snickered and turned to Macro and Glyph, who were looking at him with blank expressions. He tried to look as innocent as he could before making his plea.

"May I go with them? he asked in an unusually high and sincere voice, "I promise I'll be on my best behavior."

Glyph and Macro looked at each other, then turned back to Reyson, "We don't believe you."

The others laughed at this, even Reyson joined in on the laugh. He waved down The Lovers, "Don't worry about me. Besides, I bet any "fun" we have will lead to the "fun" I desire. So why not go with them?"

He walked over and joined the other three. They separated into their new groups. Once set, Glyph raised his phone.

"I'm glad we're in groups of four," he said pleased, "but if anything changes, contact us."

"Yeah, for example, if you break up into groups of two after a while? Send a text." added Macro, "Don't want to be caught off guard or anything. Ok?"

They all nodded, Leilani giggled at this, "We'll be fine Macro."

"Most likely, yes. I trust you Leilani, and you three too. But..."

He motioned to the street, looking at the people walking up and down it.

"...I don't trust them. I don't know them all, and that makes me tense. Soldiers mentality."

"Friends mentality." noted Glyph with a smirk

"Worrywarts mentality!" rebutted Diana with a mocking look to them both

"Regardless," overrode Yasmine, "we promise to be careful, and let you know if anything happens."

"Promise." said Erin with a bow of the head

"If it helps, we'll send text to each of you," offered Aaron with kind smile, "just so you all know."

"I'd appreciate that." acknowledged Macro, "Ok, enough talking, let's go have some fun."

They all said goodbye, and split up into their groups and went down opposite paths of the streets. In a nearby alley, a hooded figured watches them leave, then disappears back into the shadows.

A few minutes after Leilani and her group left, they arrive at a surplus of stores. Her and Erin's eyes light up as they reach them.

"Wanna go in?" asked Erin

"Yes!" replied Leilani happily, "I recognize the name, it has a bunch of cool clothes and fabrics! And that one next door has a plethora of art supplies. I need to restock after redecorating our room."

"I believe "extreme makeover" is a more accurate term Leilani." noted Aaron with a smile

"You should've seen our room back home." stated Yasmine with a smile of her own

"Oh no, not this story..." groaned Leilani, now nervously playing with her rabbit ears

"Oh yes. Mother and father gave her some markers when she was young. Told her to, "draw to your heart's content." They then took me out to do some work in the shop. When we returned?"

Yasmine paused and looked at her sister with a mix of happiness and disbelief, "All four walls were completed made over. Various colors, pictures, everything you can imagine from Leilani's imagination.

Leilani smiled and laughed as she recalled the memory, "They said to my heart's content..."

"Not like that though!"

"So what happened to the room?" asked Erin intrigued

"They wanted to paint over it, but they feared how Leilani would react. So they didn't for years."

"Yeah, and I did cry when they finally did paint over it. But more out of sadness than pain." admitted Leilani somberly

"So the moral of the story is..." pondered Aaron as he stroked his chin, "be grateful she didn't go overboard with our room?"

"Precisely." stated Yasmine, "Leilani loves to draw, to a fault."

"I could say the same for your "planning" Yasmine," retorted Leilani with a sneer, "How many times I have to follow your plans, else you would get miffed?"

"I...I..."

Yasmine decided not to respond and instead turned away. This caused the others to laugh. Once done, Leilani pointed to the stores.

"So can we go in sis?" asked Leilani

"By all means." relented Yasine with a smile

"And while you two are doing that..." began Aaron, who then pointed across the street, "I see an ice cream parlor. We'll get you some food for when you're done."

"That'd be fantastic." beamed Erin, "You're the best."

"As are you."

The two gazed lovingly upon one another, making Yasmine roll her eyes.

"Just make sure you stay in these two stores. No wandering. And don't take too long, else the ice cream will melt."

"We'll be quick, thanks Yasmine. Come on Erin." said Leilani grabbing Erin's hand and going into the clothing store

Yasmine and Aaron watched them go in. Yasmine sighed after they were out of sight.

"They'll be fine." noted Aaron with confidence

"I know," admitted Yasmine, "I just worry at times."

"Sister's keeper?"

"Precisely. Shall we go get ice cream?"

"Of course!"

The two turned and headed back across the street.

Across town, Glyph and his group continued to just wander around, looking at the various buildings and people they came across. Diana and Reyson were particularly entranced by the surroundings.

"You know, I like Atlas, but this place feels more...more..." said Diana aloud

"Free?" finished Reyson

"Yeah, free. More personal touches, less uniformity. Ugh, I hated those Atlas uniforms. I'm glad Beacon lets me wear my dress."

She did a spin and a pose, but none watched her as she did. Diana pouted, but then caught back up with the others.

"Vale has always put individuality above all else." revealed Macro, "Call it location, timing, leadership, doesn't matter, the end result is what you see around you."

"Have you two been here before?" asked Reyson

"Twice." answered Glyph

"A few more for me." said Macro, "I would come here with my dad at times depending on his deployments and missions. It's been a while though, I'll admit."

They continued to walk down the street. This street in particular had a lot of sidepaths and alleyways. As they passed one in particular, a series of loud noises caught Reyson's ears. He stopped and looked down it. A group of men were towering over a young teen.

"Pay the toll!" barked the men

"It's a free street! I don't have to do anything you tell me to!" said the teen, confident yet afraid

"Is that so? Well then, you know what to do boys."

Reyson smiled evilly, and reached for his swords, but hesitated. Instead, he just cracked his knuckles and walked down the path.

"Something tells me you're about to do something very stupid." said Reyson going to them

The men turned to Reyson, looking at him with uncertainty and confusion, "Who are you supposed to be?"

"I'm the guy you don't mess with. So leave the kid alone, or else...you're getting your butts kicked."

The men looked at one another, then laughed loudly. Reyson smiled even wider at this.

"That's what I thought. Ok, let's go then."

"Kid, you are crazy." noted one of the men as they approached him

"No...I'm just very angry."

The sent a punch at Reyson, he dodged easily, and struck back with a slew of punches. After they landed, he shoved the man into the nearby wall, making him crumble onto the ground. Reyson glared evilly at the other men, motioning for them to come.

"Next?"

Uneasy, but not backing down, the two remaining men charged Reyson. They began to attack in unison, making Reyson go on the defensive to start. But the moment an opening came, he would strike, and seriously harm the men. After a few seconds, all three were defeated. Reyson breathed heavily as he looked at the fallen. He then turned to the kid, who was rooted in place.

Reyson snickered, "I think you should go."

Without so much as blinking, the kid ran away, Reyson laughed more loudly at this. But when he turned to leave he sobered up. Macro, Glyph, and Diana were all looked at him displeased.

"Uh...how long have you been there?" he asked

"Since the beginning." revealed Diana

"Oh, well...they started it!"

"We know." said Macro, a small smile appearing on his face, "Good work."

"Agreed." added Glyph

This took Reyson aback slightly, "Wait, you're not mad? What about the "no fights rule"?

"No unnecessary fights. Big difference."

"To be honest, I'm surprised you helped out the kid." noted Diana, "Seems out of character."

"You kidding?" said Reyson, his evil smile returning, "Fighting for the little guy is the easiest way to get into fights! Got to satiate my appetite somehow, right?"

He looked at them all for approval, but instead, they all shook their heads and began to walk away.

"Ah come on! I was kidding! Kind of...ah, forget it."

Reyson looked once more onto the fallen men, and smirked before joining the others.

Back in the art shop, Leilani and Erin looked around at the various supplies in the stores. Leilani was especially entranced by the markers and pens.

"I want this one...and this one...and this one..." she muttered as she picked up supplies

"Just be sure to don't go broke after this trip!" joked Erin

"It's happened before...but it was worth it!

The two laughed, then focused again on the supplies. Erin eyed Leilani's sash full of her sharpies.

"Hey Leilani, how do those sharpies work? I mean, you draw on your arms, and then weapons come out?"

Leilani smiled and nodded, "I'm not very smart in many things, but, with art? I'm like a savant. When we had to make our own weapons at school, I didn't know what I wanted. I wanted something special to me, but nothing felt right. Then one day, a girl joked that maybe I should "draw my weapon", and something clicked."

"So what did you do?"

"I went to a teacher, one I trusted, and asked for their help. They noted that with Dust, nothing was too out of reach. So, we put our heads together, and we created my Dust Sharpies. He noted that I could draw about anything on my skin and it wouldn't get hurt. It'd be like a "hidden set of claws", and that's how I thought of my three-pronged claws."

She put down the supplies she had picked up, and summoned the claws from her arm. Each prong was a different color, she pointed to each.

"Because of the Dust itself, I can make any prong have a certain attribute. It comes in handy when I need to deal with certain situations. And I can change on the fly with no hassle! The gun part was trickier, but we figured that out too! So now, I have the perfect weapon for me! One made by my art skills."

Leilani smiled happily to Erin, who returned the gesture, and they began shopping again.

"That's amazing. I remember this one time, Aaron noticed I was really depressed, so he contacted a friend who was good in art, and he had her draw a portrait of me. He gave it to me as a gift."

"Oh! Is that the one in your collage?"

"Yep! I love that picture."

"That is so sweet, I hope to have someone like that someday..."

"Gee...I wonder who that could be..."

Erin looked at her knowingly, Leilani blushed, and hid her face, "I don't know what you mean!"

"Oh come on! You've eyed Glyph for some time. We all know it. Well, most of us, it's hard to tell with the guys to be honest. But the girls know. Why do think Diana keeps shooting those looks at you?"

"I thought she just didn't like me that much."

Erin shook her head, "No, she likes you. But she also sees you as a rival for Glyph's affections. She's not so subtle in her liking of Glyph as you can tell."

"Yeah..."

"So you do like him?" pushed Erin, making sure Leilani was looking at her

"Yes! ...yes, I do. He's great. But I don't know what he thinks about me."

"He's a tough read, by nature and design I think."

"Yeah..."

Leilani looked sadly at the supplies, Erin nudged her to shake her out of her funk, "Don't depress yourself. Just be yourself, and you'll be fine. That's how I got Aaron apparently, so just be you, and see if Glyph responds."

"And if he doesn't?" wondered Leilani with a smile, "This is Glyph we're talking about."

"Then take the first step. There's no handbook that says the man has to make the first move."

"Fair enough. Come one, I got my supplies, let's go pay and get our ice cream before it melts!"

She bounced away, Erin watched her and shook her head sadly, but did follow.

With the others, Macro, Glyph, and Diana found themselves in a book store. Reyson stayed near the door, eyeing the outside. The other three converged on one section of books, each looking at different ones.

Diana saw one in particular and eyed it longingly, "Oh my! "The Elegance of Dance"."

She picked it up, Macro and Glyph came to look as well.

"Is it special?" wondered Glyph

"I'd say," noted Macro, impressed at the condition of the book, "it's very rare. During the Great War, there were a lot of books that were burned or destroyed for their "symbolism" or "individuality". Dance books were just such a thing."

"Yeah, it sucks. A lot of great books were lost." added Diana as she flipped through it, "I thought this was one of them."

"Well, it's not! So get it Diana."

She pondered this, but then sighed and put it down, "I would, but I don't have much money, this one is expensive, and something tells me I'll need the cash for later. Another time though."

Clearly disheartened, she put the book back and walked towards the entrance. Macro shrugged at Glyph and looked around some more. Glyph however, looked at Diana as she went towards the door, her expression was still sad as she looked at the window. He then eyed the book she was looking at.

A little later, they all left the store, and walked down the street.

"Can we please go somewhere more fun?" begged Reyson

"Just because you don't like books doesn't mean we don't Reyson." snapped Macro with a look

"It's not that I don't like books, it's that I didn't come into town to look at books for a half-hour!"

"We weren't in there that long." stated Glyph

"Felt like it..."

Diana didn't say anything, which made Glyph look at her, but not speak. Macro though got their attention.

"How about some food? I see a cafe I recognize, they have some good stuff for low prices."

"I am hungry, and I might need the energy for a battle later on." said Reyson patting his stomach

"War monger." said Diana without emotion

"You know it Red. Shall we?"

He motioned, and they all proceeded to the cafe. It was called, "Through The Vale", and had seating both outside and inside. The group chose the outside seating. Diana sat down first and turned to them.

"Just get me something simple, I'll save our seats and people watch." she said with a small smile

"You don't mind?" questioned Macro

"Nah, go ahead."

Reyson and Macro proceeded in, but Glyph didn't. Instead, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a book. He placed it in front of her, his hand covering the title. She eyed him curiously.

"What's this?"

"Reading material. So you don't get bored."

He removed his hand, then followed the others inside. Diana looked down and saw it said, "The Elegance of Dance." She clasped her hand over her mouth in surprise, she looked inside, and saw Glyph looking back at her with a smile before turning back around. After a few moments of just looking at the book, she smiled widely and laughed. She held the book, and looked back inside the cafe.

"Yep, you will be mine Glyph Masterson. Yes you will."

Diana laughed again, then opened the book and began to enjoy it.

A few hours later, Macro and the others continued to roam through Vale. Diana was still reading her book, only looking up when she thought she might run into something. Reyson was on edge, as though he was an addict and was looking around for his next fix. Macro was also looking around, but just to enjoy the scenery, while Glyph was simply looking ahead.

Something caught Reyson's eye, and he stopped in front of a large brick wall.

"What's this about?" he asked

They all stopped, and looked at the wall, it was covered in artwork of various sizes and styles.

"It's a mural Reyson," said Diana with a motion to the drawings, "people do this all over, it's their way of adding life to something dull. They seriously don't have this where you live?"

"Where I live? No...no they don't."

Reyson's face became very angry at this, and he glared into the wall with intensity. Glyph and Macro saw this and knew they had to say something.

"I bet Leilani would love to see this." noted Glyph

"Oh she'd freak!" added Macro, beginning to move down the wall to admire all the artwork, "She would want to find a free space, and she'd probably beg Yasmine to let her draw something. Then she'd want to take hours to make sure it was...it was...it...was..."

Macro's voice died off, making the others turn to him. His expression became very fearful, his breathing very jagged. Macro's eyes began to bulge as he looked upon a particular piece of artwork. He ran his fingers through it, and saw the paint was still wet. This seemed to anger him greatly.

"No...no!"

Flashes appeared to him, images of Faunus, all wounded, or worse. They grew in intensity and frequency, making Macro grow more angry with every single one.

The other noticed this and came to Macro, Glyph especially was concerned.

"Macro, what's wrong?"

"It's the symbol...the symbol..." sputtered out Macro, still in an enraged state

"What about it? What does it mean?" asked Diana just as confused as the others

Instead of answering them, Macro pulled his shovel off his back, and formed it into his machine gun. He let loose a wave of bullets, trying to besmirch the symbol on the wall. When it only put a certain amount of holes into it, he roared in anger.

"Dang it! Wait. Reyson!" he called out

"Uh, yeah?" said Reyson, now very uneasy

"You wanted to break something? Break that part of the wall! Use your Aura Charge and destroy it!"

"I'm all for destruction, but is that safe?"

"The wall isn't attached to anything, no support structures will be harmed. Now do it!"

Reyson looked to Glyph, wanting his permission before doing anything. Glyph hesitantly nodded. And Reyson shrugged in agreement.

He got a good ways away from the wall, then rushed towards it, his Aura building as he got closer. Once a few feet away, he jumped towards the section, ramming into it with great force. The wall and bricks broke and crumbled until a huge section was removed. Reyson rose from the wreckage and brushed himself off.

"Well, I feel good, but why did I do that again?"

Macro didn't answer, Glyph got in his face when he didn't, "What is going on? You're not like this. You're lucky no one was around here, or we'd be in trouble. What is going on? Do I have to call the others to-"

"The others!" said Macro returning to his frenzied state, "Leilani and Yasmine are in danger!"

"What?" said Diana now very concerned

"Call them! Call them now! Diana, you call Yasmine, I'll call Leilani! We have to get to them!"

The others looked to Glyph, who was still focused on Macro. Macro, still in his frenzied state, fumbled to get his phone out and call them. Glyph grabbed his arm and made him look into his.

"What. Is. Going. On!?"

"We don't have time!"

"Make time! Look at yourself! You think you'll help anyone in this state?"

Macro looked at his hands and saw that he was shaking. He took some deep breaths, becoming instantly calm as he did. When he returned his gaze to Glyph, expression and composure calm, Glyph released.

"I'm sorry, I lost it there, but there was a reason. But I can't explain it now."

"Why?"

"It's too long of an explanation. We NEED to find Yasmine and Leilani. I'm asking you to trust me right now. Do you still trust me?"

Glyph continued to look at Macro, but then he nodded, "Yes."

Macro sighed and smiled in relief, "Thanks, now seriously, we need to call them. If we're lucky they're still with The Lovers."

"They're not," said Diana, making the three look at her, she held her phone up, "we got a text a half hour ago. Leilani and Yasmine split up to go look for something."

"Dang it!" said Macro angrily, "You call Yasmine, I'll call Leilani."

"What about us?" asked Reyson rejoining them

"Get ready for a battle."

"Heck yeah."

They all waited as Macro and Diana sent their calls. Each second though made them more tense as neither side answered. As both of them hit the voicemail message, they became even more fearful.

"Dang it."

"What do we do?" asked Diana

"I'll call The Lovers, tell them to meet us, and hopefully they know where they went. Glyph, do you think you can do some teleporting recon?"

"That's dangerous. I have limits in distance, if I go in the wrong direction...?"

"It'll take a while to get back..." said Macro as he weighed the options, "Ok. Let's meet The Lovers, then if they know at a direction, do it."

Glyph nodded, and Macro made a call.

Far away from them, Leilani and Yasmine walked alone down a street, the sun was beginning to set, and the sky above began to grow dark as it did. Both of the sisters carried bags full of items. Leilani walked with a pep in her step, while Yasmine simply walked normally.

"I'm surprised you bought so much sis," said Leilani look at the bags Yasmine was holding, "you're usually not a big spender."

"True, but I needed some things. My drones need maintenance, and these new Dust shells were perfect for them. I'm not coming to Vale every time we get the opportunity, so it's best I get it all now, rather than hope I get here later."

"I suppose, but you should take the opportunities to get out more sis. Make some new friends, meet some new people."

"I thought that was what school was for."

She shot a teasing look at Leilani, who stuck out her tongue and returned it in kind. They laughed at the joke and continued down the street. Unbeknownst to them, several figures in hooded garb were watching from behind objects and in alleyways.

Across town, Macro and his group raced down a street, dodging people and items as they ran full speed. Down the way, The Lovers waved their arms in the air to get their attention. They saw them, and made for them as quick as they could. Once they met up, they stopped and caught their breath.

"Thanks for meeting us." said Macro as he panted heavily

"You weren't exactly informative on the phone." noted Aaron, "How are Yasmine and Leilani in danger?"

"No time, do you know where they went?"

"Yeah," said Erin, looking very confused, "Yasmine wanted to get some mechanical parts for her drones, then maybe go to a Dust shop or two. They were going to the east side, near the business district."

"I know that area." said Glyph, grabbing his escrima, "If they're still around there, I can find them."

"Do it," said Macro with an approving nod, "we'll get there on foot, it's not too far away. If you can get them out of the city, do it. Don't wait on us, we're not the target."

"I want answers when this is done."

"You'll get them, now go!"

Glyph looked at the others, then teleported away. Macro loaded up his weapon, then turned to the rest, "Be ready for battle. Now let's go."

He lead the way down a street, the other reluctantly followed, arming themselves as they did.

Leilani and Yasmine continued down the pathway. They chatted with one another as they did. At one point, Yasmine pulled out her phone, but as she looked at it, the screen flickered in and out. This caused her to stop. Leilani saw this and became worried.

"What's wrong?" she asked

"My phone isn't working, something is...check yours, please." she stated back

Confused, Leilani did so, and like Yasmine's, her phone flickered in and out, "Huh, my phone's not working either. Weird."

Yasmine tensed up at this, she began to look around, eyes glaring into the structures around her. Leilani saw this and became very curious.

"Are you scanning right now?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because there's nothing in this city that should be jamming our phones, they were built to never be interfered with. So if they're not working..."

"It's intentional."

Now worried, Leilani begins to look around too. As Yasmine used her Semblance to scan the area, she got a beat on a person nearby. Her eyes went wide when her eyes revealed a hooded garb. She grabbed Leilani's hand and began to race away.

"Come on!" she whispered just before bolting away

The sisters raced down the street, trying to get away from whoever was following them. But as they did, not only did they notice the streets were surprisingly empty, but more and more hooded figures began to show up.

Eventually, in their haste to get away, they made a wrong turn, and ended up in a blocked off alley.

"Oh no." said Leilani realizing where they were

"Stay strong," Yasmine said consolingly, "we just have to...crud."

As she turned around towards their path out, a group of hooded people stood before them. Their robes were black, yet had an odd white symbol on their chest, and their faces were completely covered. Both the sisters tensed up as they saw them.

"Who are you?"

None of the people responded. This made Yasmine more angry.

"I said who are you?!"

"We do not respond to the impure." the people sang in unison

"Uh, you just did!" stated Leilani, which got a laugh from Yasmine

"I don't know who you think you are. But if you're looking for trouble? You found it."

Yasmine reached behind her back and activated her lance, then put it into drone mode, releasing the satellites, and aiming them at the people.

"Now back off!" she barked

Instead of leaving, the people began to hum, and from their robes they pulled out swords, all of which looked the same, and bore the crest on their robes. They began to sing, and the swords lit themselves on fire.

Leilani became gob smacked at this, "Uh...sis? Can we get out of here?

"Yeah, do it!" Yasmine replied

The hooded group approached, Leilani grabbed onto Yasmine by the waist, then used her Semblance to bound into the air, and onto a nearby roof. Without hesitation, she bounded off it and onto another roof, then another. She did this until she felt she was safe.

Taking a break on a roof, she looked down at the streets to see if they were clear, "What was that all about Yasmine?"

"I don't know," she answered uneasily, "but something tells me it won't be that easy to get away from them."

As if to answer the statement, the sound of singing filled the air. The sisters turned to see more hooded people on rooftops nearby. Each slowly moving towards them.

"Oh come on!" cried out Leilani dismayed

"Keep it together," said Yasmine calmly to her sister, "let's get out of here."

Leilani again grabbed onto her sister, and began to leap away, but this time, the hooded people were ready. They released ropes into the air to try and grab onto them. Though Leilani dodged many. Two grabbed onto her and Yasmine, and with a powerful pull, began to send them back down to the earth.

The sisters tried to free themselves, but nothing worked. Just before hitting the ground though, Glyph teleported under them, grabbed them, and teleported away. The hooded ones scattered after they saw them leave.

A little bit away, Glyph reappeared on the street, the sisters in his arms. He let them go, and fell to one knee, clenching his chest and breathing heavily. Leilani came to him and helped him up.

"Glyph! Thank goodness, wait, are you ok?" she asked concerned

"I pushed my Semblance a little too far." he said with a groan, "If I go too far a distance, especially with passengers, it hurts me."

"How did you find us? How did you know we were in trouble?" wondered Yasmine

"Macro. He saw something, said you were in trouble, sent me to find you. Better message him."

With Leilani's help, he got his phone out, and quickly texted Macro. A few seconds later, he got a response, and he motioned down the street.

"Him and the rest are that way. Let's go."

"Can you walk?" asked Leilani still concerned

"Yeah," he replied with a smile, "just don't ask me to teleport you both there."

He smiled at Leilani as he straightened himself back up, she blushed slightly and smiled back. Yasmine though snapped them back to reality with a look.

"Let's not dawdle, we need to get out of here."

With a nod, the three raced down the street to meet the others. Darkness had now set in on Vale, the only lights coming from the buildings around them. Yasmine took lead, as her eyes were the best early warning system they had.

As they approached the rendezvous point, they were again approached by the hooded people, who surrounded them once more. They drew their swords, and lit them on fire as they sang.

"Ok, you guys just made a big mistake." said Glyph readying his escrima

"I'll say." added Leilani activating her claws

"Let's take them." stated Yasmine releasing her drones from her lance

With a flurry of motion, the three approached the hooded group, and began to attack. Though outnumbered, they held their own. Glyph fought them in close quarters, using his escrima to block and parry their swords to get in shots of his own. Whenever the numbers became too much, he teleported around them, and began to pick them off.

Yasmine used her Semblance to anticipate as many of their moves as possible, all the while using her drones to drive back the horde of people When they got in close, she used two of her drones to reform her lance, and began mixing up her attacks to best them.

Not to be outdone, Leilani mixed her jumping skill with her claws to slice and dice the people. Using her dust sharpies, she frequently altered the style of her claws, giving her new abilities. Including setting her claws on fire, so that their robes would catch ablaze. Several of them ran away screaming as she set them alight.

Despite their skills, the group had the numbers advantage, and all three took hits. At one point, they all were pushed towards the same spot on the street, which allowed the group to surround them once again. They went back-to-back to ensure they weren't caught off guard. But even they worried as the group drew closer.

"Death to the impure, death to the impure..." they sang drawing closer

"Death to you idiots!" shouted a voice

The group turned just in time to see Reyson crashing into them with his aura charge, taking out a large chunk of the group. Macro, Diana, and The Lovers followed suit by letting loose their own attacks to break up the group.

"Protect Leilani and Yasmine!" ordered Macro, machine gun letting loose on the hooded people

The others formed up, and began to fight alongside one another to protect the others. This didn't stop Glyph, Yasmine, and Leilani from fighting either though, as the two teams combined to definitive drive them back. Eventually, the entire group was pushed away, leaving only GRYD and MEAL standing.

"Enough!" shouted Glyph, glaring at the fallen foes, "What is this about? What did they ever do to you?"

"They were created..." sang some of the group

Macro began to step towards one of them, face full of anger, but before he could reach, a thick cloud of darkness permeated the area. Macro looked around, then raced back to the group.

"Stay together! Don't let anyone get taken!"

The darkness enveloped them. They huddle close to ensure no one was taken. Soon, the darkness dissipated, and they all found themselves alone on the street.

"They're gone." said Leilani looking around

"No one is around except for us." added Yasmine after looking around with her Semblance

"Dang it...dang it!" roared Macro at the sky

The others looked at him concerned, Glyph came and put a hand on his shoulder, "We need to get back to Beacon. You can explain what's going on there."

"10-4."

Weapons still out, they made back for the school.

In the room of Team MEAL, the others waited for Macro to speak, but for a while, he just looked out the window, staring in the direction of Vale. Eventually, he sighed and shook his head.

"You ever see something you shouldn't have?" he asked

"What do you mean?" wondered Diana

He turned around to face them.

"You see something, and you are so confused, or so terrified by what you see, that you know you should've never even been there to see it in the first place?"

Most of them shook their heads, but Reyson and Glyph nodded. Macro nodded as well, then turned back to the window.

"My father is a soldier, as far as I've told you. But I what I haven't told you, is that he's part of a special group that seeks out enemies to the people of Remnant, and helps dispose of them. Legally, I mean."

"That's a relief, heaven forbid it wouldn't be legal." joked Reyson, who was silenced by a look from the others

"My father has seen a lot, and he keeps his findings on the computer at our house. One day, when I was young, he was away, and I went to the computer, just like I had done a thousand times..."

He paused, and hung his head in shame.

"I started to wander around his files, and I saw a file called "Heralds". I wasn't familiar with that word, so I clicked on it, and that's when I saw them."

"Saw who?" asked Glyph

Macro turned around, tears now in his eyes, "Faunus, hundreds of them."

"What's so bad about that?" wondered Leilani, though clearly fearing the answer

"Because Leilani, these Faunus were beaten, broken, or dead. All of them. Hundreds of them, thousands of them."

"What does this have to do with us and what happened today?" asked Yasmine intensely

"I'm getting to that. I was so shaken by this, I couldn't help but looks at the pictures, when my dad returned, he saw me at the computer, glued to them still. He pulled me away, tried to comfort me. But the only questions I could ask, was, "Who did this to them dad? Why would anyone cause this much pain?"

Macro wiped his eyes, and once again turned to the window. It was then that my dad told me a horrible truth, a truth that not many know about, or believe in. One that I now share with you. About the "Heralds of Purity".

"That...sounds familiar." noted Reyson

"Does it? Interesting."

"Who are they? asked Glyph

"During the war with the Faunus, both sides got desperate in the third year. Each side wanting something to tip the scales in their favor. As such, both sides sanctioned...extreme options. Groups that would go beyond the laws of conduct, the laws of reason. For the humans, this the Heralds of Purity. They weren't so much a group as a cult, ones who believed they were "blessed" with great purpose. To wipe out the Faunus from the face of Remnant."

Both Leilani and Yasmine reacted strongly to this, looking to each other in fear and uncertainty. Macro didn't see this, and thus continued.

"It started out small, vandalism of Faunus houses. Surprise attacks on any Faunus they saw. Their original intention was to just scare the Faunus population into submission, but it grew into something more fanatical. More evil. Over time, they went to kidnapping, torture, and murder. Cold-blooded murder. For months, they terrorized the Faunus population. Giving hope to the Humans that they had the edge. Ironically, this boost in confidence led to the true turning point in the war."

"The Battle of Fort Castle." stated Yasmine

"Yeah, that fool of a leader thought he could taken advantage of the situation, backfired totally. Lead to the Faunus having the upper hand. The Heralds petitioned the human leaders for more power, more leniency, more terror. But the war had gone on long enough, and the treaty was formed and signed. It was over. Or so they say."

"What don't we know?" asked Glyph

Macro turned to his friend, expression full of sadness, "As part of the treaty, all extremist groups on both sides were declared criminals, and disbanded, then tried for their crimes. Unfortunately, the Heralds concealed their identities. So very few were caught. They promised to return one day, and finish the "purpose" they were given."

"But that was nearly a century ago!" cried out Leilani, "They would all be old! Or dead!"

"And the world is such a peaceful place when it comes to Humans and Faunus? No hate still exists?"

Leilani went quiet at this, as did Yasmine, who both know how harsh the world is to their kind. Macro shook his head sadly at this.

"Hatred for Faunus still permeates the four kingdoms. Just the way it is. No doubt the Heralds went underground, tried to rebuild, but were afraid of taking action so soon. So they waited, and now they're here."

"Ok, I get the history lesson," stated Diana still confused, "but your reaction, and that symbol on the wall, what was that about?"

"Because they were hidden in plain sight, the Heralds had to do something to let the others know when an attack was going to take place. In the old days, they would paint symbols on walls in public places as a kind of early warning system. That was what I saw on the wall, and it was fresh, the paint was still wet, which is why I knew the threat was imminent. As for my reaction..."

He sighed bitterly, and pulled out his phone. He typed up a few things then tossed it to Glyph. Who looked at it and passed it to the others.

"Before I came to Beacon, I was on a mission with my father. Not long after, he received intel that the Heralds had emerged. To prove this...Faunus are being kidnapped all over Remnant. Small numbers, but still noticeable to those who know what to look for."

"How is that possible? How can people not see they're missing?" asked Reyson after looking at the phone

"Come on Reyson! We live in a world of Grimm who are right outside our borders! What's more believable? That they were attacked by hooded figures from a cult made a century ago? Or by monsters outside our doors?

Reyson looked away angrily, the others got angry as well at this.

"So what are we going to do?" asked Erin speaking up for the first time, "Do we go to Night? Tell him what happened? He has pull!"

"We don't know their faces Erin." said Aaron knowingly, "It wouldn't do much good."

"Exactly," acknowledged Macro, "and even if we left the symbol standing, few know what that means."

"Can we even go to Vale again?" asked Leilani, shifting in place uncomfortably, "I don't know if I can knowing they're there."

"We can't live in fear," said Glyph confidently to her, making her smile, "we stick together, we show we aren't afraid of them."

"That's right," said Macro with a nod, "they'll be back, for sure. We keep our eyes open, catch them if we can, then we blow their cover wide open. I'll let my father know what happened, maybe he can find something we won't."

"So just to be clear..." said Reyson, getting everyone to turn to them, "We have Grimm, modified Grimm that's more powerful than regular Grimm, and now a cult wanting to kidnap and kill all Faunus. I'm all for a fight, but even I hesitate at those odds."

They all went quiet, all thinking of the darkness that lied just outside their school.

Not so far away, Headmaster Night watched a video on his personal phone. It was of Reyson destroying the wall with the Herald's symbol. He watched it over and over until he paused it just right so he could see the symbol.

"They're back." he said bitterly,

*credits*


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 - Movements and Motivations**

Outside of the school, in the grassy areas surrounding Beacon, the members of Team GRYD and MEAL were at work practicing, much to the enjoyment of many on looking students. Macro, Glyph, and Reyson were engaged in a heated triple threat battle, which each one getting hits on the other, but none backing down. Meanwhile, The Lovers took on Leilani and Yasmine in a tag team battle, in another evenly matched contest.

The only one not battling was Diana, who was entertaining her watchers with one of her dance routines. She elegantly moved through the air, as well as on the ground, even using her whip, and the dust bullets within, to add flair and style to the movements. When she was done, she wrapped her whip around her arm and bowed to the crowd, to which they all cheered loudly. Diana soaked it all in, until she could feel the glares and gazes of others behind her. She turned to see the rest of her team, as well as MEAL, looking at her displeased.

"What?" she asked not getting their expressions

"You keep dodging practice." answered Glyph bluntly

"Wrong you are, partner, this is my practice. My routines are part of my battle style remember?"

"While practice is good," interjected Yasmine, "you need to keep your edge sharp against actual opponents, instead of just placating to a crowd."

Diana became very angry at this, "Don't get mad at me because I can put on a show, while the only "show" you can do is in the classroom answering questions."

Yasmine flared up, and tried to get to Diana, but Leilani held her back, "Don't sis."

"No, let her do it!" encouraged Reyson, "That's a fight I'd love to see. I got ten on Red."

Diana smirked at the compliment, while Glyph, Yasmine, and Leilani glared at him, which made him stand down.

"Right...sorry..."

"Don't push things Diana," warned Glyph, "you said you would overcome your flaw in regards to your battle style. Prove it."

"Fine," she said with a sigh, "next time I'll practice with you all. Promise."

Glyph nodded, and headed towards the school, the others followed, with Macro bringing up the rear, getting close to Diana as he did.

"You don't know Glyph as well as you think you do," he stated with a smirk, "you better keep that promise, or he'll make you keep it."

He snickered at the look Diana got on her face after the statement, then ran to catch up with the others. Diana shook her head as she watched them leave, then sighed heavily and followed.

A little while later, the students gathered in a classroom for their latest session of Survival Training. A burly man greeted them as they all arrived.

"Welcome back everyone!" the man said with a booming voice

He waited for a few moments, but when no one replied, his expression soured.

"I said, WELCOME BACK EVERYONE!"

The class recoiled at the volume of his shout, but all regained composure, and they said in unison, "Good morning Professor Chestnut."

The professor laughed as the reply came. The professor was a very large man, with rippling muscles on his arms and legs. Even his neck was as thick as a log. Unlike most professors, his attire was that of an outdoorsman. He wore clothing made out of simple fabrics and animal skins, on his desk stood a helmet that matched his attire. Much like his wardrobe, he had dark brown hair, with piercing blue eyes. He grinned widely as looked upon the class, rubbing his hands eagerly.

"Now class, today is a day I've been waiting for since school began for you! For today, you are going to be assigned your first official mission as teams."

The students began to talk amongst themselves at this reveal, he allowed it to happen for awhile before calming them down.

"Now to be fair, it's not a dangerous mission...per se anyway. However, it is important to get you out in the field, and this will do just that."

"What's the mission sir?" asked Macro, leaning in to hear the professor

"Good question Mr. Camof. Your mission is two-fold. Retrieval, and survival. All new teams will be blindfolded and sent into the Emerald Forest. Once there, you'll be given an item you must retrieve from the forest itself. I assure you, all items are in the forest, and in fact, have been confirmed to be there just this morning. So this isn't a trick assignment, so that excuse won't work if you fail!"

A worried murmur spread throughout the classroom. Professor Chestnut walked towards a blackboard, where a picture of the Emerald Forest was placed, he knocked his hand against it to get their attention.

"As you know, there are Grimm in the forest..."

"Yeah, and some mutated ones too..." said Reyson bitterly to his team

"...so you'll need to be on guard at all times. To enhance the need for survival. You'll be put into the forest with only 2 hours of daylight left. It'll be up to you and your team to find the item quickly, else, you're staying the night in the forest!"

He roared with laughter at this, making the students again become uneasy. Several of them looked very scared.

"But that's dangerous!" cried out one of them

"This life is dangerous!" he yelled back, stepping towards them, making all of them tense, "Do you think us adults have that excuse? No! We all have to learn to survive. Do you think that every mission is fighting Grimm? No! It's rescue, preparation, retrieving items of importance, even diversion tactics, whatever the job requires. I know some of you want to fight Grimm, that's fine, I applaud that, I really do. But not every mission is fight, but, EVERY mission is about survival. This will be your first taste of that. Any other questions?"

The class was quiet at first, then Yasmine raised her hand.

"Ms. Kaleido."

"What are we retrieving?" she asked calmly

"That...is a surprise. You'll find out specifically what it is you're looking for when you enter the forest. As for what it does, you'll see. I will say this, if you all complete the mission? It'll be worth it. Even if you don't realize it."

"What about time limits?" added Macro

"Another good question Mr. Camof." said Chestnut approvingly, "As I said, you'll have two hours before nightfall to start your journey. Then, you'll have the whole next day to find the item. If you do not get it before midnight of that day? You fail. And before you ask what your punishment will be if you fail...well, I'll let that be a surprise. A very painful one."

A wave of fear spread across the students, only a few stayed calm. Chestnut smiled and shook his head.

"Fear is not to be chastised, it's to be applauded. Fear keeps you alive many a time. But also, your skills keep you alive. So for the rest of the class, we'll be reviewing your basic survival skills. How to build camp, light a fire, purifying water, everything. You will be ready for the forest after this class. Whether you survive though, is up to you. So sayeth Barker Chestnut."

With that, he turned and began writing on the board, all the students began to take notes.

As the rest of the day progressed, all the teams who were to partake in the retrieval mission were slowly getting more and more anxious, and nervous. They constantly went over their training in their head, making sure they would ready for anything that came from being in the forest.

Finally, as the day began to set, each team was brought together and given an escort. Once on the edge of the forest, all members were blindfolded, so that they couldn't determine where in the forest they were in relativity to the school or other major landmarks. The vehicle containing GRYD trudged deep into the forest, until finally the driver stopped.

"You can take off the blindfolds now and exit the vehicle." she stated to them

Slowly, they all removed their blindfolds, and found themselves in an armored truck of sorts. Glyph was the first to rise and make for the door. He carefully opened it, and peeked his head out to ensure nothing was waiting for them outside. When certain of its safety, he turned to the others and nodded, and they all proceeded to get out.

Glyph went to the driver while the others adjusted to the open forest, "I know the time limit, but what are we getting? And how do we show we completed the mission?"

The driver reached down, then gave Glyph a wristband of sorts, "Put that on. It has the info on what you're looking for. Once you find it, scan it, and a signal will reach the school. An airship will pick you up once it's confirmed that you retrieved the item. Good luck. Your mission begins now."

She started up the armored truck and began to drive away, Glyph and the others watched it leave, then huddled together to discuss the mission.

"So, what are we looking for?" asked Yasmine

Glyph put on the wristband, and pressed a button on it. A hologram emerged from the band, and showed a tree and some text.

"We're looking for a tree?" wondered Reyson in disbelief, then motioned all around him, "Take your pick!"

"It's a specific tree Reyson, and we're not looking for it, but the sap in it. Read why don't you."

"How about you kiss my-"

"Enough!" interjected Glyph, shutting down Reyson and Yasmine with a look, "Yasmine, what do you know about the tree?"

"It's called the Tropian Tree." she replied once calm, "It only grows in certain parts of Remnant, including the Emerald Forest."

"At least we know it's here." said Diana happily

"Indeed. However, it's not going to be easy. This particular tree has a particular growth cycle, and it only flourishes in certain areas. It's not going to be easy to find."

"So," said Reyson, mulling over the info, "it's a needle in a haystack?"

Yasmine sighed angrily, but eventually nodded, "Yes, most likely, though not impossible."

The two again glared at one another, which caused Diana to snicker, and Glyph to shake his head angrily.

"Focus," he said to them all, "first things first. We need to try and establish where we are. Yasmine?"

"On it." she replied with a nod

She reached behind her, and pulled out her lance. Once extended, she separated it into her drones, and sent them up into the air. The others watched as they rose higher and higher.

"Ah, aerial recon?" asked Diana impressed

"Yes, my drones have all kinds of sensors, not to mention cameras and scopes."

"Could they find the tree?" wondered Reyson

Yasmine was taken aback by the simplicity of the question, she thought it over for a bit.

"Possibly, but there's risk."

"Such as?"

"Such as, just because they know what the tree looks like, doesn't mean they can find it on look alone. They'd have to slowly weave throughout the forest in all directions. Also, there are Grimm here, and they would likely get destroyed if caught."

"You afraid of losing your pets?" teased Reyson

"If I recall, my "pets" made you think twice about chasing Grimm when we got partnered up." shot back Yasmine, "Want to see their bite again?"

"Will you two give it a rest?" said Diana exasperated, "Fight later, let's get this sap and move on! I have things I'd rather be doing than this."

"Oh, right," Reyson with mock sympathy, "heaven forbid we delay your dance practice."

"Ha, ha. Guess what? I wasn't referring to that."

"Sure you weren't Red."

"Drones are back." said Glyph pointing up

Sure enough, the drones descended upon them, they all gathered around Yasmine and began to buzz. She looked at each one, nodding when done with them and moving to the next. Finally, she waved them off so she could address the others.

"We're approximately three miles from the school," she said confidently, "which means we're pretty deep into the forest."

"Options for finding the tree?"

"As much as I hate to admit it, Reyson was right that my drones could help find the tree. They may not be able to find the tree itself, but they can search for areas that the tree could be in, and constantly searching for more. If you give me a little time, I'll make the adjustments so they can do so."

"Do it." he said, handing her the wristband with the data

Yasmine brought her drones close, and began to input everything they needed to find where the tree might be. The others waited patiently for her to finish. A few minutes passed and Yasmine sent two of her drones into the sky, keeping two with her.

"Ok, they're ready," she said with a nod to Glyph, "the two up there will scan for areas that could have the tree based on atmospheric conditions, while these two will do the same from ground level.. If any find signs of where they are, they will let me know."

The drones beeped happily at the mention, which made Glyph smirk.

"So, where do we go first?" asked Diana looking around

"Well, because the forest looks the same from up there, and down here, we'll honestly just have to walk around on our own for a while. The more we see of the forest, the more my drones will be able to predict areas where the Tropian Tree is."

"Great!" said Reyson happily, grabbing his swords and readying himself for the trek, "More walking means more chances for action. Fun! I pick this way first!"

He pointed in one direction and began to walk off. Glyph teleported right in front of him, making him stop.

"Don't make this any more difficult than it is Reyson." he said warningly, "You run off? I will drag you back."

"I hope you mean "drag" literally." said Yasmine with a glare at Reyson

"I do. You've been warned."

He turned and began to head into the forest. Reyson stared him down as he did, but reluctantly followed. He was followed by Diana and Yasmine.

GRYD went even deeper into the Emerald Forest, keeping their eyes peeled for both the tree, and hidden dangers that might come their way. Several times they were surprised by Grimm, both Beowolves and Boarbatusks try and ambush them, but the team works together and quickly dispatches them.

As they continued on, Yasmine's drones noted areas that would likely have the tree they were looking for. They went to them with high hopes, but upon reaching the potential spots, they found the tree wasn't there, forcing them to continue on without a lead.

Minutes turned into hours, and soon, darkness descended on the forest. The thick canopies of the trees made it so that the darkness was almost all encompassing. Thankfully, Yasmine's drones were able to shed light on the immediate area. She even brought down the ones from the sky so that they could add to the lighting.

"This'll help us see," she noted as the drones shined spotlights everywhere, "but we need to set up camp."

"Agreed." acknowledged Glyph, "But we're not in a good place to do so. We should find a clearing."

"Won't that make us more open to attacks?" asked Diana

"Yes, but, locked in with the trees we're no better off."

"On a level plain, it's an even playing field." added Reyson, "Or, if we get lucky and find a plateau of some kind, we could use that to our advantage."

They all turned to him in surprise, they had rarely ever heard him use such logic. He rolled his eyes angrily.

"I'm a barbarian, not an idiot. Or, at least not when it comes to battle tactics. Lochen is a smart guy, I like listening to his ideas and strategies."

"Which you barely use..." scoffed Yasmine

"Timing is everything Yasmine, I thought you knew that."

He smiled at her teasingly, which fired her up.

"Both of you drop it." said Glyph testily, again forcing them to stop, "Now is not the time. We need to find a good place to sleep and keep watch."

As if on cue, one of Yasmine's drones began to beep. Yasmine looked at it for a bit, then turned to the others, "It's saying that someone has a fire nearby, man made."

"I'm sorry," interrupted Reyson, "but how are understanding it again?"

"I built them so they could communicate with it. I have special lenses on my eyes that interpret the data they find."

"Right..."

"Moving on, the fire is that way."

Yasmine took point, the other followed her through the trees. They all had their weapons at the ready just in case. Soon, an opening appeared, and they slowly approached it. To their surprise, in the now open clearing sat Team MEAL sitting around a fire. They all reacted to GRYD in their own ways. Leilani in particular jumped up and went over to hug Yasmine, who happily returned the gesture.

"Hey Leilani," said Yasmine happily, "good to see you safe."

"You too sis!" replied Leilani beaming, "I was hoping you were ok."

Macro got up and clasped hands with Glyph in a sign of brotherhood, while the rest simply waved and greeted the others.

"Good to see you Glyph." said Macro, "Your team is more than willing to join us around the fire."

"Thanks." said Glyph with a nod

With a motion the rest, they joined MEAL around the fire. Leilani was sure to sit next to Yasmine. Diana made sure she sat next to Glyph, with the rest just picking seats that were there.

"So," said Aaron with a curious look, "may we take it you haven't found your item yet either?"

"No such luck." answered Diana

"We know what to look for," revealed Yasmine to Leilani, "but finding it is another matter."

"Same here." said Leilani sadly, "we know what it is, but it's hard finding it."

"What's your item?" Glyph asked Macro

"Matchen Nuts." he replied simply

Reyson was stunned at this, "Matchen Nuts? Isn't that...?"

"A kind of nut used in high class meals?" stated Erin with a sly grin, "Yes, yes it is. How did you know that?"

Reyson became uncomfortable at this, "My family loves it. We have it on several occasions."

"That's surprising, given how rare it is." noted Aaron

"Let's just say my family doesn't want for much."

They all looked at Reyson for more about what he and his family did, but he looked away, face full of anger and pain. Glyph and Macro looked at each other and shook their heads in acknowledgement that they shouldn't push it.

A rustling of bushes got their attention, and all of them jumped up, weapons at the ready. They waited as the noise got louder, and closer, each ready to strike at a moments' notice. To their surprise again though, a person walked out, the lightning covered them in shadow. This time though, the person was exhausted. As he looked up, she was taken aback by their attack poses.

"Friendly!" she cried, "I mean, I'm not a Grimm."

"We can tell that." say Reyson bluntly

"I know you..." said Yasmine looking closer at the girl

"Elenor Rigby." said Glyph, beginning to relax his pose

Elenor stepped forward into the light, showing that it was indeed her. Her tonfa were still on her arms, but her looks were different. She was covered in scrapes and bruises on both her arms and legs. Macro reacted to this.

"Your hurt, come here. I'll fix you up." he said as he put his shovel away

Without waiting for Elenor to respond, Macro began pulling items out of his vest, then used them on Elenor.

"This'll hurt a little."

He began treating the wounds, she winced at times as he tried to heal them, "Ow, ow..."

"Why don't you use your Aura Elenor?" asked Leilani, "You remember it heals wounds right?"

"I've been doing that for a while now. Almost since we got into the forest. It's...not been easy. Anyway, I'm giving my aura a rest, just in case."

"Where's your team?" asked Glyph, his face hardening, "Where's the rest of PRME?"

At this, Elenor became uncomfortable. Glyph's face became full of rage.

"Did they abandon you?"

"No...not exactly."

Macro stopped tending to her at this and made eye contact with Elenor, "What do you mean, "not exactly"?"

"Well..." she started, clearly embarrassed, "they said it would be easiest if we split up to find the item. So we did."

The others looked at each other knowingly. Yasmine in particular was offended, "No they didn't. They merely sent you away, making you think they all went in different directions, then likely rejoined not long after."

Elenor didn't react badly to this, instead, she merely sighed sadly, "Yeah, I figured."

"Why go along with it then? Why wander the forest?" asked Erin confused

"Still needed to finish the mission. Besides, even if I was with them still, I would've wanted to test my skills at finding the item."

Glyph and Macro smiled at this. While some of the others shook their heads in disbelief.

"You're a brave girl noted Elenor." noted Reyson approvingly

"What's the item you're looking for?" asked Macro, treating her wounds again

"A Gordanian Root." she answered

"Oh! Mission complete then."

He reached into his vest and pulled out a small, withered root. Elenor's eyes lit up at this.

"This is it! Why do you have it?"

"I use it for certain medical purposes. I'm a soldier and a medic, having stuff like this comes in handy. I would've used it on you if you hadn't mentioned it was your goal. Go ahead, take it."

Elenor happily took the root, and put it in one of her pockets. Once secured she bowed to them all.

"Thank you so much."

"You want to stay with us?" asked Glyph, "It'll be safer here until morning."

"Thank you, but no." answered Elenor with a smile, "I need to find them so we can get out. I'll be fine. Thank you all for your help."

With another bow, she turned and headed into another patch of bushes and trees, soon disappearing from sight.

"Brave girl." repeated Reyson

"Remind me to punch Primrose the next time I get a chance." noted Glyph bitterly

"Done." the rest said in unison

"Such bratty girls" said Erin with malice, "why in the world would they do that to Elenor? I would love to know why they wanted to become Huntresses. Likely for fame and glory."

"Or to boost their own egos." added Aaron

They all gathered back around the campfire, putting back their weapons as they did if they hadn't already. Reyson laughed to himself as they did.

"What?" asked Yasmine expecting the worse

"It's nothing."

"Come on." Diana pushed, "Out with it."

"Look, it's just, I can't condemn anyone for being a Huntsman or Huntress. No matter their motivation."

"Why not?" wondered Leilani surprised

"Because, not everyone does it for noble reasons. Some do it for very selfish ones. And there are very good Huntsmen and Huntresses out there who only do it for said selfish reasons. You can hate them, but it doesn't mean they don't get the job."

"So do you do it for a selfish reason?" asked Aaron

"Yes. I do it because my family hates that I do it. That I want to be a pure Huntsman, instead of what they are. Even going to Beacon was an act of defiance against them. Besides, I love to fight Grimm, Huntsman is the best profession to do that. That simple."

They all looked away, but for different reasons, this got Reyson looking at them suspiciously, "Oh, right, and you all have non-selfish reasons for wanting to be Huntsman and Huntresses."

"Some of us I'm sure." said Macro confidently, "My father is a soldier, I wanted to follow in his footsteps. Huntsman skills are valuable to be that, so here I am."

"Me and Yasmine wanted to help our family, and our kind," said Leilani with a small smile, "being Huntresses will help us do that. Hopefully anyway."

"It will Leilani." said Yasmine with a comforting look to her sister

Reyson rolled his eyes, then turned to The Lovers, "You two?"

"I wanted to prove my skills to the world. I'm very accurate with my crossbows as you've seen." boasted Aaron

"I thought it would be cool to be a Huntress," said Erin with a small look of shame, "I was happy my parents allowed me to do it."

"As am I."

The Lovers hugged one another lovingly, causing Reyson to fake vomit in response. Then he set his sights on Glyph, "And you?"

"Desire. Then atonement." he stated simply, his look showing he wasn't going to elaborate

Diana waited for them to ask her her reasoning for being a Huntress, but no one did, making her angry, "What? You don't want to know my reason?"

"You're a dancer Red." said Reyson with a shrug, "You're probably like Aaron, wanting to show off your skills to a different audience."

"Shows what you know, that's not even close."

"Then enlighten us," said Glyph showing interest, making Diana smile

"I will. Esmeralda Fenix."

They all reacted in surprise at this. Making Diana smile even wider.

"The famous Huntress?" revealed Leilani, "Arguably one of the best still in the world today?"

"The very one."

"What does she have to do with this?" asked Macro curious

"When I was young, I only wanted to be a dancer. Then one day, my village was attacked by Grimm. Esmeralda came to save us, and I got to watch her fight."

She closed her eyes and envisioned the battle, smiling as she thought about what she had seen.

"The way she fought, it wasn't just powerful, it was beautiful. Her Semblance allowed her to generate and manipulate fire. And she used that gift in a way I can't even explain. I was...moved, touched in the deepest way by what I saw. Sure, I could dance, but could I move like that? Not yet. So...I decided to become a Huntress, so I could try and be like her."

"Thus why your moves are so elegant in their movements." said Yasmine, realizing the connection

"Yep, even me choosing a whip as my weapon was because of her. Her weapon was an extension of her moves, instead of just a tool, I wanted something similar, and the whip came to mind."

"Surprising," admitted Reyson, though he smiled soon after, "but to be clear. That's selfish."

Diana smiled right back at him, "Oh I never said I became a Huntress for unselfish reasons! I just wanted you to know the reason. Aren't you glad I surprised you?"

The others made varying sounds of amusement and acknowledgement, making Diana scoff.

"Tough crowd."

"One that needs to sleep." noted Macro getting up, "We'll take shifts watching over everyone. That way everyone gets some sleep, while we make sure we aren't blindsided. We'll do it in partner shifts. Me and Leilani can do first watch, if that's ok with you of course."

"I don't mind, I'm not tired yet." she replied with a shrug

"Good. The rest of you get some sleep. We'll wake you up when it's your turn to watch.

They all nodded in agreement, then proceeded to rest on the ground.

A few hours later. Glyph and Diana were woken up to keep watch. They stretched to get more awake, then proceeded to pace around the clearing for a while. Neither of them spoke for some time. Diana got more antsy with each silent minute.

"You know, we can talk during our watch." she said with a look to Glyph

"Then talk." he said back, not returning the look

Diana grabbed his hand, forcing him to stop and turn to her. She looked at him with a playful smile.

"You don't have to play "hard to get" with me."

"I don't know what you mean."

"Oh come on. You bought me the book. That didn't mean anything?"

"I could tell you really wanted it, so I got it for you. That's called being a friend."

Diana smiled even more playfully, stepping closer to Glyph so that they were only a few inches apart.

"What if I wanted something else? Say, something more than a friend?"

Glyph look right into her eyes for a few moments, then stepped back a few feet. Diana's smile faded as he did.

"Then I'd say you'd have to earn it. I'm not that easy." he answered bluntly

"I never said you were."

"Said? No. Acted? Not so much. You call me "partner" all the time. You make looks at the others at times as if to say "he's mine". That doesn't make me happy."

"I didn't mean-"

"It doesn't matter what you meant. You did it. You want to impress me? Be better. Better for me, better for the team, not just for you."

He turned and walked away. Leaving a stunned Diana in his wake. After a few moments of walking though, he paused and sighed heavily. Face full of regret. He slowly turned around.

"Diana...look, I just don't..."

As he fully faced where she was, he noticed she was completely gone. Glyph became afraid, quickly looking around to see where she went, but she was gone.

"Diana..."

Now fully in the forest, Diana walked determined through it. She had her whip out, and lashed out at trees that were nearby. Her face was full of fire.

"Be better, huh?" she muttered to herself, "Ok. I'll show you I'm worth it."

Her eyes darted from one part of the path she was on to the other, fully focusing on the trees themselves.

"Where are you, you dumb tree?!"

She continued on, still whipping the trees that were nearby, slowly creating a path she could follow back to the team. As time went on though, her fire in her face began to fade. At one point she stopped and looked around bitterly, her expression slowly growing remorseful.

"Maybe this was a bad idea."

With no sign of the tree, and very little light to go on, Diana sighed, putting her hands on her hips and shaking her head.

"Nice one Diana. You haven't let a guy rile you up like this in years. I can't wait for the lecture when I get back. Oh well, let's get this over with."

Now refocused, Diana began down her marked path. Seconds into doing so though, a rustling sound filled the forest. She repositioned her whip to be in a more attack posture, and waited for the noise to reveal itself. The sounds got louder, making Diana more tense with every passing second. Then, it suddenly died down.

She waited for it to start back up again, but it didn't, so she relaxed, "Huh, must've been-"

A roar filled the air, and from the nearby trees came a massive gorilla like being. It lunged into Diana with its massive fists, sending her flying backwards into nearby trees. She collided with several branches, and landed broadside on the trunk of a tree. Though in pain, she got back up, her eyes glued on her Grimm opponent.

"A Beringel," she said surprised, "I didn't know they were in the forest. Just my luck. Come on monkey boy!"

The Beringel roared again, and made his way towards Diana. This time though she was ready, and she sidestepped its attack and let loose strikes with her whip. Using both itself and the Dust bullets within to do damage. The Grimm felt the attacks, but shook them off quickly and re-engaged Diana.

Diana tried to keep the Beringel at a good distance using her whip, but the Grimm wouldn't have it, and consistently got in close to do attacks, forcing her to dodge. Then, when she tried to do her more elegant and powerful attacks, the Beringel would break her stride, making her start over.

Getting frustrated, Diana used whatever attack she could get off on the Grimm. Yet despite hitting it, the Grimm kept coming back for more. In one instance, it charged right at her, enduring all of her attacks, then hitting her broadside, sending her crashing into a tree, breaking it in half.

Diana gasped for air as she tried to get up after the attack, "Get up Diana...get up!"

She groaned in pain, but was able to rise up. The Beringel was waiting for her, and charged again. This time though, Diana dodged, and let the Grimm burst through more trees. Sending bark and branches everywhere.

As she took the moment to recover, the words of Glyph echoed in her head, "I've seen you work that whip Diana. It is elegant, beautiful even, but you leave yourself open. A smart opponent can dodge your attacks with ease as you dance around."

"Or endure it apparently." she added with a smile, "What would you do Glyph?"

Glyph's words again echoed for her, "I get...complacent... I don't evolve, and that can be fatal."

"Evolve. Ok. Ok."

She looked around, desperate for any advantage. She saw the tree pieces on the ground and smiled.

"Oh! Idea."

No sooner did she say this than the Beringel again charged her. This time it had picked up pieces of the destroyed tree trunks and threw it at her. She swatted them away with her whip, or rolled under them.

"Guess we had the same idea, your turn to dodge!"

With a quick motion, she began picking up parts of the fallen trees with her whip, and threw them at the Grimm. She did so repeatedly so that the beast would be put off balance.

The Beringel took the hits for a while, then charged again at her. Diana readied herself as it did. Once close again, she used a simple maneuver and wrapped her whip around its leg, catching it. Then, with some effort, tripped it up, making if fall to the ground. Now exposed, and unable to guard, she let loose with her whip.

"Take this!" she shouted as she lashed it repeatedly

The Beringel took the hits, but soon rose and charged again. Diana was ready though, and used similar strikes to gain the upper hand. But the Grimm learned her tricks, and after one instance actually grabbed the whip, and used it to throw her into another tree, again destroying it. Bark rained from the sky as Diana again rose from the ground.

"Ok...this one is smart...great."

She winced in pain as she saw blood coming from her arm. Diana steadied herself though and prepared for battle. However, her eyes noticed a large chunk of tree trunk nearby, one that was conveniently sharp due to its destruction. his caused her to smile.

"It doesn't have to work every time, just once."

She rushed the Beringel, and slid under a swipe of its massive hands, then rose and attacked it again. Making it stumble forward before turning back to Diana.

"See if you can stop this! Come on girls!"

Diana danced in place, and began sending out projections of herself via her Semblance. The colored silhouettes use their own whips to grab onto the Grimm. Together, they were strong enough to hold it in place.

"Here we go!"

Using her whip, she bounded over the Beringel, then slammed her whip onto one end of the tree trunk, making it rise into the air. She quickly wrapped her whip around it, and hurled it towards the Grimm. The Beringel shook off the silhouettes, and turned towards Diana just as the trunk was within inches of it. The sharp end plowed into the Grimm, sending it flying backwards and into another tree. The momentum was so strong the sharpened trunk pierced through the Grimm and through the other trunk, impaling the Beringel, and killing it. Making it fade away in wispy smoke.

Relieved the fight was over, Diana fell to her knees in exhaustion, sighing heavily. Soon though, she began to laugh.

"Oh Glyph," she said with a smile, "I wish you had saw that."

As she rose again, a dripping noise caught her ears. She looked around and saw that one of the trees that had been damaged in the fight was dripping an odd substance. She looked at it curiously, then got closer to examine it. When she did, her eyes went wide in shock.

"That's the sap! That's a Tropian Tree! What are the odds?"

She tapped her head as she began to think.

"Ok, how much did we need? I think it was a good cup full. What do we have?"

Diana looked around, and saw a fractured branch that could suit her needs. She helped shape it so it could hold more of the sap, then once content, went to the tree and filled it up.

"That ought to do it." she said contently with a smile, "Now let's get back to the others."

She slowly rose and looked around for her whip markers. Once she found them, she began down her path.

At the campsite, everyone was up, hoping for any sign of Diana. Glyph looked especially tense, and he paced all around the site.

The rustle of bushes made them all jump up, and to their relief, Diana walked though them, still holding the branch filled with sap. The others raced to her to see if she was alright.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she said as they bombarded her with questions, "can someone hold this? My arms are tired."

"I got it," said Yasmine taking it from her, "I have a container we can use."

"Thanks Yasmine."

"How did you find the sap?" asked Reyson eyeing her curiously

"Luck, trust me."

The others laughed at this, all except Glyph, who was glaring at her. She sighed and made her way to him. She stood in front of him very relaxed, and looked right into his eyes.

"Go ahead, say it."

"That was reckless, and stupid. Not what I meant by "be better"." he said with force

"I know, and I'm sorry." she said honestly, "I was trying to prove something to you, but I got lost in the emotion of it all I guess. I'll do better."

Glyph's gaze burned into her, but he soon nodded, content with her response, "Good. Despite what you did, I am glad you found the sap. More important...I'm glad you're alright."

"Yeah, he woke us up right after you left," noted Macro, "we had to hold him back from charging right after you."

Diana looked at him pleased and surprised, "Did you now?"

"I wanted to find you. That's what friends do when they think one is in danger."

"Well thank you..."

He nodded and began to walk away, to which he turned to him and smiled.

"...partner."

Glyph stopped and turned to her, his face like stone. But then he laughed and smiled back at her.

"Hate to break this up," stated Reyson getting their attention, "but we have our item, can we go back to Beacon now?"

Glyph turned to Macro, who happily motioned them off, "By all means, we'll finish our task on our own. It's only fair."

With their blessing, Glyph scanned the sap with the device they were given. A screen came up, glowed green and stated, "Mission Accomplished!". Followed by a message stating, "Airship Incoming."

A few days later, they returned to the classroom of Professor Chestnut. He stood in front of his class and surveyed the students. On his desk stood a large item, covered in a cloth.

"Students!" he said, voice still booming, "I'm proud of all of you. Each team completed the task! That hasn't happened in a few years, well done."

The students clapped at their own success, to which Chestnut happily allowed.

"Sir!" called out Yasmine, "May I ask what the purpose of collecting those items were?"

Instead of answering, Chestnut simply smiled, then pulled the cloth off of the item on his desk. Under it stood a large jar, filled with a liquid substance. The class gazed at it in wonder and curiosity.

"This my students...is Chamera Oil."

While many looked around confused, several, including Macro and Yasmine, reacted surprised. Chestnut laughed at their reactions.

"Peace, it's ok if you don't know what it is. Chamera Oil is a rare liquid that can treat certain infections and diseases. Including...a disease that has stricken a local town in our very own kingdom right now."

"So it wasn't random," noted Macro, "it did have a purpose."

"Every mission you will take in this school will have a purpose Mr. Camof. Night and I don't believe in "meaningless missions". Everything should have a purpose. And your actions over that day and a half will help cure many a man, woman, and child. You should be proud."

"What would've happened if one of us failed?" asked Leilani curious

"Good question. Though scattered, Night knows where all the items were in the forest. So if one of you had failed, he would've gotten it himself. Just because you would've failed doesn't mean we should punish everyone, right?"

The class nervously laughed, but Chestnut waved it all off.

"Relax! You did wonderful, and by what I have heard, some of you deserve special praise. Including Elenor Rigby, and Diana Artemisia, who single-handily acquired the items for their teams. Well done ladies."

The class cheered for them. Diana especially was taken aback, and as she turned to her team, she saw Glyph smiling at her, and he even added a wink to show it was him who told Chestnut about her. She smiled playfully at him, which made him shake his head and turn away. But her smile didn't fade, even when Chestnut restarted the class and began his lesson.

*credits*


	8. Chapter 7

**GRYD: Chapter 7: Blood**

In a dark lab, a man walked up to a test tube. Instead it was a Boarbatusk. The man tapped the glass, which riled the Grimm up. He smiled as he saw it squirm.

"Fear not little Grimm", spoke the man with an odd kindness, "you'll be free soon. After all, it's time for Round 2."

At Beacon, during a break between classes, the various students talked amongst one another. The members of GRYD and MEAL were scattered outside among their friends and acquaintances. Reyson was one of the few not among the others, for he was sitting against a tree, and was entertaining a group of girls who were hanging on to his every word.

"So what happened next?" one asked eagerly

Reyson smirked, "Simple, more came out, and I killed them, and then more came out, so I killed them too. Suddenly, more came out, but when they saw what I was doing to them, they bolted. I chased after them, but they got away. Oh well, there's always next time."

The girls looked at Reyson in awe, he soaked it in with an even wider smirk, then began to regale them with another tale of his victories.

Nearby, Macro and Leilani were talking, and were soon joined by Glyph. After a while though, laughter from Reyson's group caught their ears.

Leilani looked at Reyson in surprise, "I don't think I've ever seen Reyson like that."

"He's known as the "Cool Barbarian" for a reason Leilani," noted Macro with laugh, "he loves to fight, but then he'll play it cool around others, share his "war stories". You may think he likes the attention, but I think he gets a rush in retelling his battles. He's an interesting one."

"As long as his lust doesn't kill him first." Glyph said bluntly

Leilani and Macro turned to Glyph, his gaze was fixed on Reyson, yet his expression was blank.

"You'll get through to him Glyph, someday."

"That may be too late."

Leilani tried to meet Glyph's eye, smiling kindly as she did, "You can't help everyone Glyph, Reyson's different than Yasmine, or Diana. You should be happy they're coming around. If Reyson doesn't, isn't that on him? "

"...maybe."

She made to speak again, but Macro put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head to stop her. Her expression became sad, but she yielded to his wish. Just then, a loud sound filled the grounds, and everyone turned to the school.

Over on the loudspeakers, a tapping noise focused them, followed by the voice of Headmaster Night, "Hello students, I trust you are enjoying your rest. I have an announcement to make, it's of a special event happening tomorrow."

The students murmured amongst themselves for a few moments until Night spoke again, "For the first time in decades, one of the elder members of the Heron clan is coming to our school. They will be holding a special lecture on the goals of peace in our world, and what we should do to try and ensure a peaceful Remnant. I expect you all to hear their words, and be respectful to our guest. It will be held in the Amphitheater tomorrow at noon. So be ready. Now please proceed to your next classes, as they will be starting soon.

When it was clear he was done, the students again chatted among each other, several of the girls around Reyson looked at him with joyous expressions.

"That's great Reyson!" said one, "You'll get to see one of your family!"

"Yeah, did you know they were coming?" asked another

Reyson didn't answer them, instead, his eyes were focused on the school, slightly bulging out of their sockets. His body began to shake. This caused the girls to become nervous.

"Reyson?"

Without warning, he stood up and made straight for the school. This not only got the attention of the girls, but Glyph, Macro and Leilani. Who were now looking curiously at him.

"What was that about?" Leilani asked aloud

"He didn't know." came an answer

They all turned and saw Yasmine approaching them, her expression blank, but eyes fixed on Reyson as he continued towards the school.

"He didn't know his family was coming? That's odd." noted Macro

"Not really, remember, he doesn't get along with his family. He came here in defiance of them. He told us that. So this? This is something he likely doesn't want at all. We better watch him, he's likely to do something rash, or stupid, or both."

"What's our next class?" Leilani wondered fearfully

Glyph grunted, "Combat training."

"Oh dear."

With new purpose, they made their way to the school, and towards class. As they entered the upper seating of the amphitheater, Professor Lochen was already waiting for them. The others looked around for Reyson, but couldn't see him in the seating.

Lochen clapped his hands together to get their attention, "Greeting class, and welcome back. I hope you're rested, because today will no doubt be intense. For as you can see..."

He motioned to the stage, and the lights clicked on. Reyson stood on stage, swords drawn, eyes glaring into the emptiness in front of him.

"...we already have our first combatant, and we all know how...passionate...Reyson is about fighting. So...who wants to take him on?"

Silence filled the room. No one raised their hand, or made any inclination that they wanted to battle him.

"Seems your reputation precedes you this time Mr. Heron."

Reyson didn't respond, instead, he continued to gaze out in front of him. Lochen looked at him with curiosity and worry, but shook it off, "Fine, since no one will volunteer, we'll go to a new thing. The Randomizer!"

He motioned to the overhead screen, where Reyson was already displayed, the other slot for a person was marked with an "?", but with a snap of Lochen's finger, the pictures of other students began to cycle. It started slow, then began to go faster, until Lochen again snapped his finger, and a person was selected.

"Ah!" said Lochen pleased, "Dart Ward, head of Team DFND. I believe this is your first time in the training zone, this should be fun! Come on down."

A few moments later, Reyson's blank gaze became disrupted when Dart entered his view. He observed him for a moment. Dart was average height, but stocky, and heavily armored. An assortment of greens and browns colored his armor. On both of his arms were pieces of metal that protruded via loops around his arm, it was unclear what they were for. Reyson shook off his analysis and readied himself for battle.

"You know the rules gentlemen...begin!"

Reyson rushed Dart, who simply stood in place in response. When Reyson let loose a swing of his swords, Dart quickly brought his arms together, connecting his two pieces of metal and forming a thick shield. Reyson's sword bounced off it without a scratch, but without missing a beat he swung his other sword around Dart's feet, and tripped him up.

Forced to release his shield because of the impact of hitting the ground, Reyson tried to strike with a downward blow. But this time, Dart flipped around the metal on his arm to reveal a sharp blade, which blocked Reyson's strike. He then twisted and kicked Reyson away.

Infuriated by this, Reyson again charged Dart, who again allowed him to rush him without challenge. Dart reformed his shield and began to block several of Reyson's attacks, then when he had an opening, Dart would strike back. At one point, Dart formed his shield, and the weapon revealed a launcher inside, that sent several bullets at Reyson, all of which hit.

To Dart's surprise though, Reyson didn't fall, instead, he seemed incensed, and growled angrily at his foe. Reyson rushed at Dart again, this time charging his Aura. Though Dart again formed his shield, Reyson's charged strike sent him flying into the wall several feet away. He hit the wall so hard, he left an imprint. Only being released with gravity finally took hold. A buzzer broke the silence, and signaled Reyson's victory.

Reyson didn't move from the stage though, instead, he went back to his original position. He used his Aura to heal many of his wounds, then returned to gazing at the spot in front of him.

"Nice job Reyson," called out Lochen, "do you mind letting another duo fight?"

Reyson turned to Lochen, "I want another match."

"I don't recommend that, that fight with Dart was pretty intense."

"I want...another...match!"

Lochen glared at Reyson, who glared right back. The professor sighed bitterly, but did turn back to the students.

"Looks like Mr. Heron is up for more, who wants to take him up on it? Or do I go back to The Randomizer?"

No one again answered the challenge, though this time, Glyph and Yasmine looked at Reyson with uncertainty. Lochen rolled his eyes at the lack of volunteers.

"Fine, Randomizer it is..."

For the next several minutes, Reyson battled, and won, against several opponents. Despite his quickly dwindling physical state, Reyson continued to ask for more fights, and Lochen allowed it. After five straight fights, Reyson was barely standing on his own two feet, but used enough of his Aura to heal and right himself up.

He shakily looked to Lochen, and nodded that he was ready for another fight. Lochen shook his head, but Reyson roared angrily in defiance, showing he wouldn't leave.

Lochen reluctantly turned back to the students, "Anyone want to-"

"I'll fight him." said Yasmine, standing up to get Lochen's attention

Everyone turned to her, including Reyson, who smiled evilly at her acceptance. Lochen nodded in acknowledgement of this, and motioned her to come to the stage.

As she proceeded to do so though, Glyph grabbed her arm and motioned her closer. He whispered in her ear, then let her go off.

When Yasmine appeared on the stage, Reyson seemed to get a wealth of energy.

"You vs. me huh?" he said mockingly, "I hope you're not expecting a bonding moment like what happened with Glyph."

Yasmine looked at him with disgust, and readied herself by preparing her lance "No. I don't. I just want to beat you, badly."

"Try it."

A buzzer began the fight, and again Reyson charged right at her. Yasmine released her drones from their lance formation, and instructed them to fire on Reyson. He took the bullets full contact and continued to rush her, once in range, he swung his swords, forcing her to dodge, or use her drones to block.

Seeing the new dynamic of the fight, Yasmine called two of her drones to reform a lance, and began a new strategy. As the two battled, Yasmine's eyes would occasionally flicker with light, while Reyson's seemed to get more and more fiery.

After several exchanges, Yasmine was winning handily, landing several hits on Reyson. Reyson's fatigue was starting to show, and she capitalized on it. However, despite his exhaustion, Reyson refused to give up. In fact, his rage seemed to be giving him more power, his lust for battle was the only fuel he seemed to need, so he never stopped attacking Yasmine.

Eventually, Yasmine created an opening, and using all four of her drones, she released a massive blast of Dust bullets that sent Reyson flying high into the air, then crashing to the ground. The buzzer sounded, and Yasmine was declared the winner. However, Reyson stirred, and began to claw his way back to the stage.

"Not...over..."

Before he could make it to the stage though, Lochen stepped out in front of him, forcing him to stop. "Yes, you are. I let this go on too long. I dig your love of battle, but even you have limits. You're going to be taken to the medical wing to ensure you're fine. That's not a request."

Lochen snapped his fingers, and two attendants came and picked Reyson up. He tried to push them away, but collapsed almost immediately. They again picked him up and helped them out of the room.

With that taken care of, Lochen returned his attention to his students, "That's it for today, I hope you all learned something from this."

He signaled them to leave, and they did so, immediately going into their groups of friends to talk about what they saw. GRYD and MEAL waited for Yasmine to emerge, swarming her when she did.

Leilani was the first to reach her, "You ok sis?"

"I'm fine," she replied sincerely, "Reyson barely got a hit on me."

"Yes, I find that odd..." noted Aaron with a suspicious look, "even with his fatigue, he should've at least landed a few shots on you. Was it your Semblance that prevented that?"

"Yes and no. Yes, my Semblance did help, but I didn't use it all the time."

This confused Diana, "Why not? Isn't that your thing?"

Yasmine smiled at the irony, "Yeah, but Glyph told me something interesting to keep in mind during the fight, it turned out to be really good advice."

"What was that?" asked Macro, turning to Glyph

"Rage can be unpredictable." said Glyph bluntly, "Yasmine's Semblance is only good on logical or rational behavior, which even Grimm have. But Reyson? He's more emotion than logic when he fights, especially today."

"Precisely, so I used my Semblance to merely see where he was hurting the most, then focused my attacks on those points. It was easy after that." she concluded

"Wow," said Erin in awe, "I don't know what's more shocking, that Reyson went that long before a loss...or that you volunteered to...uh..."

"Put him down?" suggested Aaron with a snicker

"Pretty much."

Yasmine grunted and looked away, "Partners may be the one you're supposed to rely on, but they're also the ones who need to put you in your place when necessary. That was long overdue for Reyson, now come on, we have to get to next class."

With that she led the others away, each having a different expression in reaction to what she said. When they reached the next class, Reyson wasn't there. But he did show up for dinner later on. However, he didn't say a word to any of them the whole time, nor the whole rest of the day. For once, Reyson was without words, or even emotions on his face. Though repeatedly, the others caught him gazing at the clocks around the school. As if waiting for something specific to happen, or a certain time to come.

The next day soon dawned, and as the members of Team GRYD awoke, they noticed Reyson was already gone.

"That can't be good." said Diana looking at the empty bed

"Not likely with Reyson." added Yasmine

"Let's get the others and look for him." said Glyph grabbing his stuff

The met up with MEAL and began to search the grounds for Reyson. There were no class for the day due to the arrival of the Elder Heron, so everyone was very to wander or relax until noon. After searching the main areas, Glyph had them all split up and go in various directions.

Yasmine stayed on the main grounds, her logic saying that Reyson would be close by for the arrival of his family member. When the grounds themselves yielded nothing, she looked back to the school. As she did, a flicker of light caught her eye. Yasmine used her Semblance and saw Reyson sitting on the school itself, at a juncture where two support beams met.

Though initially impressed by his ascension to the point, Yasmine rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Typical."

She proceeded to an area close to where Reyson was, then used her drones to lift herself up to his level. Reyson was sitted perfectly against a slab of stone. Yasmine lowered herself right in front of Reyson, who was unmoved by her presence.

"Hi", he said without looking at her

"What are you doing up here?" asked Yasmine, when he didn't answer, she looked out over the new vantage point she had, "This is quite a view, but I doubt you're here for that."

"I'm not."

"You're not Glyph, talk in more than one to five words."

This made Reyson laugh and look at her, "Touche. I'm here because I want to take in the quiet before the noise arrives. The calm before the storm."

"Your family member?"

"Yes, once they're here, it's going to get bad."

"Why? Just because you don't get along with them?"

Reyson scoffed, and rose to his feet, "It's much deeper than that. I may be Heron in name, but I'm a not Heron, as I'm sure you can tell."

"You certainly don't act like them," she replied without emotion, "all tales of Heron's I've heard of are that they're calm, patient beings, seeking peace for our world. You're none of those."

"No I am not, and they never let me forget that. I'm the black sheep, and they want to dye me white."

His face became angry, and he walked to the edge of the floor beam. He didn't move to go off it, but instead just gazed out at the grassy lands in front of him.

Yasmine surveyed Reyson, her eyes focused on him, as if trying to solve a puzzle, "So what's this is all about? You're not a traditional Heron? So you're rebelling? Like Erin?"

Reyson laughed softly and shook his head, "Maybe on a simplistic level. But like I said, it goes much deeper than that. Erin is trying to break free of her bonds that her family put her in. I've never had them. Or at least, not for a significant amount of time.

He turned to face Yasmine, and spread his arms out wide to get her to look at all of him, "I've always known who I am. And they hate that. Erin's family? I bet they love her, fully and truly. They just want their traditions to guide her to a happy life. My family? It's their way or the highway. They would've cast me out years ago...but the scandal would've killed their reputation."

Reyson turned back to the ledge, face full of pain.

Yasmine became sad at this, she had never seen Reyson so vulnerable, "Brighter the picture...darker the negative?"

Again Reyson laughed, "No, not like that. They're not abusive, or crude, or vile. It's just they're so focused on a single goal, that if anyone deviates from it? They're barbarians. Stupid, blind, barbarians."

"What's their goal?"

"Peace! What else?"

"What's wrong with peace?"

"If its earned? Nothing. If it's forced...?"

He gave a knowing look to Yasmine, and she nodded in response, "It won't last."

"The Herons are peacekeepers, been that way for generations, and they're great at settling disputes. Its how our family became so powerful, and respected. But now, after generations of this, their mindset has changed. It's "peace above all else" now. Behind the scenes? They're actually trying to shut down schools like Beacon, Shade, or Atlas. Anything that teaches combat to fight Grimm or rogue entities."

Yasmine gaped at this, mouthing words, but no sound coming out, until, "But that's suicide! With the Grimm out there? And who knows what else? We'd be wiped out!"

"Preaching to the choir, Yasmine. I think that's why they hate me...well, one of the reasons. I realized that truth young in life. We have to fight for our peace. Some can come through reason, but...not for a whole species. We have to fight for what we believe in. They don't see it that way. Just wait for the speech today, I know it by heart more than likely."

Reyson sighed heavily and looked back out at everything. Yasmine watched him closely, and noticed his hand was shaking in anger.

She continued to watch, several other nervous ticks became noticeable to her, "You're not telling me everything are you?"

He looked at her with an evil grin, "Why Yasmine, are you actually concerned for me?

She smiled evilly right back at him, "No. I just don't like mysteries, and you're still hiding something."

His cocky demeanor returned, and he walked up to Yasmine, "Maybe, but why should I tell you my..."biggest secret"?"

"Because you know I won't care either way. And thus can be very logical about it."

Reyson paused to think about it, then shrugged and nodded in acceptance of the fact, "True. You probably wouldn't be fazed by it. Well, in that case..."

A sonic boom interrupted them, followed by a rumbling of the beams. Both Yasmine and Reyson braced themselves against the beam wall to ensure they didn't fall over. Once it stopped, they both looked up to see a gold and silver colored airship descending onto an open area of the grounds. It twisted in the air to ensure it would land perfectly on the ground and not hit anything.

As they watched, Reyson's face grew into a scowl, and he bared his teeth at the ship, "They're here, time to go."

Without a look to Yasmine, he jumped off the beam, and used his swords against the stone to slow his descent and land safely on the ground. He proceeded straight into the school, not looking at the ship again. Yasmine watched him as he did so, then turned back to the ship in curiosity.

From the entrance of the school, Night, Squire, and a few attendants headed to the ship. Both Knight and Squire were dressed in very formal attire, rather than their more armored gear. As they approached the ship, a door slowly lowered to the ground. From the inside, a beautiful woman walked down the ramp and towards Knight and Squire.

She had long, flowing golden hair that almost touched the ground. Her attire was very much a dress, it too being gold and silver in color. As she reached the two, she bowed to them, and they returned the gesture.

"Ms. Heron," said Knight after the bow, meeting her gaze, "on behalf of my staff and my students, welcome to Beacon."

"It is an honor," she replied with a sweet voice, "but please, it's Swann. Ms. Swann if you must use prefixes."

"Very well Ms. Swann. You may call me Kendall, then. Or Night should you prefer."

"Kendall would be fine. Formality is nice, but to achieve peace with all, we should call each other by our proper names."

"An interesting insight, I look forward to hearing the rest. If you'll follow us inside, the amphitheater is ready."

Night held out his arm, and Swann happily took it. With Squire at the lead, they all proceeded inside the school.

Not long after, the amphitheater was filled with the entire ranks of Beacon. In the middle of the pack was Team GRYD and Team MEAL. Reyson was glaring at his family member with clear venom.

All the while, Swann surveyed the groups of students, her expression kind and gentle. She smiled as she finished looking at them all, "I look around and see many different faces. Young men and women, human and Faunus, tall, short, strong, agile, all different, yet we're all the same."

"Because we strive to bring peace to our world..." Reyson said leaning over to Yasmine who was sitting next to him

"Because we strive to bring peace to our world." Swann echoed, making Reyson smile mockingly, "Peace has been the goal for generations. For peace, isn't just a concept, it's a freedom. Freedom from fear, from want, and even need. For if we are all at peace with one another, how could we want for anything?"

"If a person is poor, we'd be happy to feed them..." mocked Reyson

"If a person is poor, we'd be happy to feed them." mirrored Swann

"If they need shelter, we would house them for as long as we could..."

If they need shelter, we would house them for as long as we could"

Every correct guess made Reyson more agitated, the others noticed this, and began to get worried about what he might do.

Swann didn't notice this, and continued with her speech, "But what has to be sacrificed for peace? Lives? Lands? Honor? Sanity? Why must we sacrifice anything at all? Cannot peace be obtained without such ghastly means or less?"

She motioned to the student base, and immediately they went into discussion, this seemed to please her. But it made Reyson more agitated, he fidgeted in place, as if trying to stop himself from speaking, or doing something rash.

"The Heron Clan believes in the fullness of peace. Not just as a goal, but as a lifestyle. Our family spreads itself out to all lands in Remnant, and seeks to bring peace to all, but also show that there is a simpler path to peace. By laying down our natural ways of violence, and accepting a more peaceful solution. You've no doubt heard that Herons are all technically Huntsmen and Huntresses, and we are. We did so, so that we could understand the perspective of those in the field of battle, and figure out a way to better resolve these violent disputes without violence at all."

Reyson clinched his stomach as if he was in pain, Glyph looked to Yasmine, who shook his head to indicate he wasn't faking or playing something up. Glyph looked to Macro, who nodded and looked to Swann.

She went on with her speech, pacing in front of the students with elegance, and maintaining her calm demeanor.

"It is our hope, that one day, all ways of life in Remnant will be revolved not around survival, as we are now, but of peace. Which one day will mean there won't be a need for Huntsmen or Huntresses, because they will be obsolete-"

"Excuse me, Miss Heron!" called out a voice

Reyson's head snapped to the voice's origin, and saw Macro raising his hand. He went still, and wondered what he was doing.

Swann didn't seem fazed by this, on the contrary, she smiled kindly and motioned to him, "Yes? Do you have a question? Please rise, and ask if so. Discussion is important in matters such as this."

Macro rose, then bowed slightly to her, to which she returned the gesture, he then rose to attention and addressed her, "While I appreciate your views, I have to wonder, do you honestly believe that we can a world of Remnant that has no need for violence of any measure?"

"I would not be here if I didn't believe that."

"I respect that, but how can you look at us and say that we shouldn't know how to be Huntsman or Huntress, when there are dangers right outside our door?"

This caused the students to again murmur among themselves, Swann maintained her composure and looked to Macro, "What is your name?"

"Macro Camof, ma'am."

"Ah, you're the son of Gunner, aren't you?"

"Proud to be." answered Macro with a smile

"A son should be proud of his father. I can also see his soldiers mentality in you. While I understand what he has taught you, you need to be open minded in regards to how to achieve your ultimate goal."

"You mean of peace?"

"I do."

"That's the thing ma'am, there are many paths to peace, too many to count in some ways. But while we here in this amphitheater can talk, or understand those, Grimm can't. And I find it very hard to believe that every single person on this world, or even in this classroom could subscribe to the notion of total peace. Or at least, a peace without violence in some regard."

Swann's smile faltered a little, her eyes narrowed on Macro, "Then you're limited Mr. Camof. All things are achievable given time and effort. The Grimm are a crutch that people use to sanction extreme violence. What happens if they all die? Or go away? What will be our crutch then? Each other. By teaching the ways of peace now, to those who can have rational thought, we prepare for the day when Grimm are gone, and all can live happily with one another."

"It's not that simple." said Yasmine, standing up to face Swann, who was surprised by her outburst

"Oh? How so?"

Reyson had his eyes glued to Yasmine, who calmly looked right back at Swann, "There is always hate, it's in our nature. We're all different, as you say, but just as it breeds admiration, it can breed jealously, hate, lust, all of which can be motives for violence."

"Logical, but incomplete."

"How so?"

"Hate does take time to overcome, but it can be overcome. Look at the relationships between Humans and Faunus. At one time, they couldn't even live with one another. Now? It's a much better relationship, imagine what-"

"That's a lie!" burst out Leilani, standing up, "You think it's good? That everyone thinks we're equals? Who do you think you are?"

Swann's expression again faltered, gone was the smile, now was a blank face of stone, "My dear, I think your emotions are getting the best of you. I suggest you sit down-"

"Don't you dare talk to my sister like that!" shouted Yasmine, eyes fiery, "You have no idea what we have been through in our lives as Faunus. Persecution, rejection, we were almost killed in Vale not two weeks ago by Humans wanting to wipe out our race!"

The room burst into conversation at this, Swann turned to Night for help to quiet them down. But Night simply smiled and shook his head.

"You can say peace is achievable without violence all you want Ms. Heron." said Macro over the still chatting crowd, "But you ask anyone here? I doubt you'll find many who agree to that notion. Because anyone worth their salt would say they would defend the ones they love by any means available to them. Whether it be against Grimm, or Human, or Faunus. Violence isn't always the answer, but to say peace is always the answer? That's limited."

Swann for the first time became angry, she recovered though and went back to her blank expression and calm pose, "I see you all are rooted in your Huntsman way, I'm not surprised. To you all, peace is a dream, one only had at night, or when gazing at the stars or sky. But to those who truly understand, peace is everything we need. In life, in love, in everything we hold. For through peace, everything can be well. The peace we offer-"

"Is a JOKE!" roared out a voice

Swann froze in place, and slowly turned to see Reyson full upright and glaring at her, she looked at him with a kind smile and bowed her head to him, "Why hello nephew, I wondered where you were."

"Oh, shove it Aunt Swann."

The students laughed at this, while Swann merely went blank faced, "I see this school hasn't tempered your fire."

"Far from it, it's proven I was right. You come in here, talking about peace, about a world without hate, a world without violence, a world without Grimm. Wake up!"

Reyson moved out from the row of seats into a wide center eye so he square off with his aunt, "You don't know anything. In the small I've been here, you know what I've seen? I've seen multitudes of Grimm, modified Grimm that even I found scary, and a resurrected cult of Faunus Hunters! You want to know how my team and my friends beat them all? Violence! Glorious, bloody, violence. The Grimm? Dead. The hunters? Made to retreat. If we tried to reason with any of them? We would be dead. What good is peaceful thoughts and resolutions when no one will even consider them?"

Swann didn't answer at first, instead she began to walk towards Reyson, who held his ground, "Oh dear nephew, not everyone has your love of violence. While I know you will not change, it doesn't mean everyone else won't given time."

"Really? Because I know three who certainly don't share your views."

He pointed to Macro, Yasmine, and Leilani, who all nodded in joining with Reyson.

Glyph then stood up, "Four."

Diana followed, "Five."

The Lovers popped up next, and said in unison, "Seven."

Reyson held out his arms, and spun around to look around at the rest of the students, "Anyone else? If you think that the Huntsman way is the only way right now. The only way to protect ourselves, our homes, and everything we hold dear. Stand up."

At first, no one joined, but soon, several students began to join GRYD and MEAL. Some did remain sitting, but a large portion did join them. Reyson seemed empowered by this.

"Looks like I got some supporters."

Swann looked at the other students with great sadness, then shook her head before returning her gaze to her nephew, "Oh Reyson, why won't you hear my words?"

"I hear them Aunt Swann, they just don't hold meaning. I refuse to shut my eyes to the world like you have. I know that any minute, a Grimm could come right at our door and-"

A loud alarm cut him off, the students and faculty began looking at one another for answers. Squire handed a monitor to Night, who immediately became tense. He raced to the center of the stage and got their attention.

"Students! Remain calm. There are some Grimm on the grounds, that's why the alarm sounded. The school is in lockdown mode, so they cannot get in. I ask you all to remain calm, and stay inside. If they don't leave, the faculty will handle this."

The students huddled up into their teams, Reyson laughed at the irony as he rejoined GRYD and MEAL, "For the record, I didn't plan for that. I meant my statement as a possibility...not what was about to happen."

"We know." stated Glyph before turning to Yasmine, "Can you get a look outside with your drones?"

She motioned to the amphitheater, "Through what window?"

"I can help with that," answered Macro with a smile, "follow me."

He guided them to a nearby wall, and pointed down to a grate, "That one goes right outside. You'll have to break the outer one, but I think your drones will be fine."

Impressed, Yasmine smiled then summoned her drone. Macro used his shovel to unscrew the grate. Reyson mocked him as he did so, "Glad to see that thing doing something other than digging and swinging wildly."

"For the last time Reyson, it's an E-Tool! Not a shovel! It's multi-purpose! And don't forget..." He rose back up and shoved the serrated side of the E-Tool right in Reyson's face, "this side has cut through Grimm like butter. Remember that the next time you insult it, and me."

"Noted."

"Macro." interjected Glyph, "Focus."

"Right. Sorry."

He got back on the ground and finished unscrewing the grate. The others blocked him from view so the faculty and attendants couldn't see him, or Yasmine as she summoned a drone and sent it into the shaft. She carefully guided it, and eventually got it outside. As she focused on the front area of the school, her eyes went wide.

She focused on what the drone was seeing, then became very fearful, "Oh no."

"What?" asked Glyph concerned

"Boarbatusks, lots of them."

"That doesn't sound so bad." noted Diana

"They have streaks of red in them."

The whole group went silent, they knew what it meant. Modified Grimm, just like the Goliaths they had meet in the Emerald Forest.

Reyson was the first to break the silence, he grabbed his swords and went straight to Glyph. "Take me out there."

Glyph didn't answer at first, he merely stared at Reyson for a few moments, "Why?"

"Because we need to get rid of them, we're the only ones who know what they truly are. We won't underestimate them like the others would."

"AKA," said Diana with a roll of her eyes, "you like a challenge, and want to go fight."

Reyson made to speak, but caught himself. Instead, he put his swords away and looked at them all in turn, "You're right, I do want to fight them, and I do love a challenge. But this time? I'm fighting because of her."

He pointed right at Swann, who was conversing with Headmaster Night.

"Because she doesn't get what we get, that fighting saves lives as much as it takes them. Who knows what those Boarbatusks can do? They might just break into the school! We can stop them, and prove we aren't just some...some..."

"Stupid, blind, barbarians?" said Yasmine with a knowing look to Reyson

"Right. Please Glyph. You don't have to go, none of you do if you don't want to. But I do. I want to so badly.

Glyph gazed deep into Reyson's eyes, as if trying to see if he was telling the truth or not. After a while, he smiled and nodded, "Let's do it. Huddle up. I'll do this fast."

They bunched together, and Glyph teleported two at a time outside the school until both teams were outside. As Glyph took the last two out, Headmaster Night saw them leave and smiled. He then motioned for Squire to come closer, "It appears we won't need to go out and handle this. Make sure no one else gets out though."

Squire nodded and left his side, as Night turned back around, he noticed Swann was gone, "Now where did you go I wonder?"

Outside, both teams made for where the Boarbatusk's were. The Grimm were rampaging mindless around the school. Ramming and charging into anything they felt they could damage.

Glyph turned to Yasmine, who was using her Semblance to assess the situation, "Thoughts?"

"At least three dozen." she said still looking around, "I wouldn't think that bad with our numbers. But..."

"They're modified, right."

He turned to Macro, "Take your team and take that half, we'll do ours over here."

"Right." replied Macro, who then motioned for his team to follow, "Move out!"

GRYD loaded up their weapons, then Diana used her whip to send a loud "CRACK" through the air. At once, the Boarbatusk's stopped and looked to them. Then, they began to bunch up into groups of 2 to 4 Grimm, and slowly marched towards them. This unnerved the team.

"That's new." said Diana slightly afraid, "They're not supposed to be that organized."

"Modified." repeated Glyph, reading his escrima, "Be ready."

Reyson laughed and held up his swords, "I'm always ready! Bring it you dumb pigs!"

As if to answer his challenge, the Boarbatusk's rushed to fight Team GRYD. They each took a group or two, and battled them head on. Yasmine used her drones and her lance to fight back the Boarbatusk. After a volley, she was able to knock one on its side. When she made to thrust her lance at was meant to be the exposed underbelly, she recoiled, for it was now guarded with armor plating like the rest of its body.

She got a good distance away from them and signaled the others, "Their stomachs are covered now! We can't kill them that way!"

"Dang modified freaks!" shouted Reyson angrily as he fought back his own group

Both Diana and Glyph were having as much luck with their own groups of Grimm. Even using his teleportation, Glyph could only get minor damage on the Boarbatusks with his escrima. Changing tactics, he formed up his sticks into their shotgun formation. He teleported right in front of one and blasted it point blank. The Boarbatusk flew backwards several feet, and though it didn't die, a big chunk of its armor was removed around its head.

Glyph followed up with another point blank blast, and this time it killed the Grimm, "They're susceptible to high impact attacks! They weaken the armor!"

"Oh heck yeah!" shouted Reyson with glee, as he transformed his swords into his arm cannons and began blasting the Boarbatusks

The others though weren't having as much success as Reyson and Glyph. Diana especially was struggling, "Little help here guys! My whip isn't equipped to do high energy blasts!"

Seeing this, Glyph teleported over and began to help out, "You bind them, I'll blast them."

Diana smiled flirtingly, "Whatever you say partner."

Glyph ignored her remark and focused on the Grimm, and with Diana's assistance began taking them out in quick order.

Yasmine struggled still with her Grimm, but was assisted by Reyson, who rammed right through the Grimm with his Aura Charge Semblance, "Coming through!"

After using his Semblance, he would go back to using his arm cannons and finishing them off. Several minutes after the battle started, the pack was beginning to thin. But just as things were beginning to look good for GRYD, a sound stopped them cold.

They turned and saw another pack of Boarbatusks racing towards them. While the others paused and wondered what to do, Reyson roared and charged right at the whole pack. Yasmine made to join him, but was stopped by Glyph.

"What are you doing?" she asked angrily

"Letting him prove a point."

Reyson built up his Aura Charge and drove right through the Boarbatusks. Not split up, he took them on one at a time and thinned the heard. The Bourbatusks didn't hold back though, and repeatedly hit Reyson. Though at first they didn't affect him, he slowly began to get cuts and scratches all over his body, causing him to bleed.

This didn't deter Reyson, in fact, it improved his fire, and seemingly his power, as he maintained his attack strategy until all the Boarbatusks were struck down.

Reyson stood now alone in the clearing, the remaining Grimm dissolved all around him. His breathing was heavy, his body was still bleeding, yet he wasn't affected by it. Slowly, he looked up at the school, and in one of the windows he saw his aunt looking down on him in judgment and disdain. As he saw this, his body began to shake in anger.

He bared his teeth at her, then let out a long roar. It was one of defiance, one that was meant to show he knew who he was, as well as a warning for all those who dared challenge him. When he was done with one roar, he let out another, and another, and another, as if to make sure all of Remnant could hear him. The rest of GRYD, along with MEAL who had just joined him, watched as Reyson let out his shouts, each one with a different emotion on their faces at what they were witnessing.

Later that night, once the school was secure, Reyson was back up on the structure beam he had been earlier in the day. His wounds were healed, and he looked out once more at the clear sky and area around him.

Just like before, Yasmine soon joined him, he smiled as she arrived, "I hope this isn't becoming a thing."

"The others were worried, I knew were you'd be, so I came to check on you." she said simply

"I'm...I don't know what I'm feeling."

"That's got to be a first. You've always been sure of yourself. One of the few admirable qualities you have."

Reyson laughed at the joke, "Funny. But I haven't always been this way. I know we have nothing in common personality wise Yasmine, and that's fine. But there is one thing that links us."

She eyed him curiously, "What's that?"

"Our eyes, they tell us who we are." he said closing his own

"I don't understand."

"The Heron Clan, since its beginning, has had a lot of things that separate us from others. Physically and emotionally I mean. We have a naturally calm demeanor, it's always been there. Our Semblance's are often defensive, rarely offensive. But most importantly, Herons have two things. Gold hair, and either clear or deep blue eyes. No exceptions."

At this last statement, he looked at Yasmine and re-opened his eyes, showing her the blood red color of his own. At first, Yasmine didn't grasp his meaning, "I'm no expert, but genetically speaking, there is a gene that allows for uncommon eye colors to go to a child. Recessive gene it's called I believe."

"That's very true. Except, there is no Heron with red eyes, my mother's is blue. And my father? He has brown eyes."

This time Yasmine's eyes went wide, as she knew what he was getting at, "You mean...?"

Reyson's evil smile returned, "Yeah, my mom had an affair, and because of that, I'm the way I am. It's the only thing that makes sense. My father, or the man who says he's my father, is very Heron like. He was actually "arranged" for my mother to marry. It happens a lot in my family. But he's not like I am. He doesn't crave battle like I do. He doesn't have the bloodlust. So where did I get it? Why are my eyes red? Why do I feel...?"

He pounded his chest where his heart was, to show the pain he felt because of who he was. Yasmine looked at him in sympathy.

"They tried to play it off at first. Recessive genes, like you said. But as I grew older? They couldn't deny it. They won't admit it, scandal and all that. They tried to convert me. Make me see their ways. Even my mother tried. But it wouldn't let me. The bloodlust wouldn't let me. You saw how I was in the speech. I don't know why my body cringes like that. But it does, it's like it rejects what I'm hearing, and telling me that's not true. It's part of the reason I fight so hard against them, because my body can't stand it, nor can my mind, so why should I?

Silence enveloped them, Yasmine looked out at the plains, then turned back to Reyson, "I'm not sure what to say."

"Don't say anything then. Nothing to say I guess."

"If that's what you think. I'll leave you alone if you wish."

"I'd appreciate that."

Yasmine nodded and made to leave, Reyson though looked to her, "Yasmine?"

"Yeah?"

"This doesn't make us friends right?"

"Gosh no." she said with a smile, "I still think you're a simpleminded idiot."

"Good. I still think you're an uptight know-it-all."

"Fine. But, while I may not like you, I do understand you better now. That's important."

Reyson smiled and nodded in appreciation, "Likewise to you and your situation. Tell the others I'll be in the room soon."

She nodded, and used her drones to again descend to the ground, Reyson meanwhile returned to gazing at the grounds.

A little bit later, in Headmaster Night's office, Night was also gazing at the grounds from his window view, a knock on the door broke his concentration, "Come in, Reyson."

The door opened and Reyson indeed did walk through the door, he was surprised by the greeting, "You really do have this place wired with cameras."

Night laughed and shook his head, "No, I just know people. It felt right that you would come after everything that happened today."

"Did Aunt Swann swear never to come back to Beacon?"

"Not in so many words, but she did voice her negative opinions about how I handled things today."

"That's Aunt Swann for you. Why did you let her come"

Night didn't look at Reyson, but rather continued to stare out the window, "I have no ill will against your family, unlike my predecessors. And to be honest, I wanted to hear their views up close. I'm not surprised what happened though. In fact, I'm kind of happy it went down like it did."

Silence filled the room, Reyson fidgeted in place, making to speak several times, but never being able to, until finally he got the courage to speak, "Sir? May I ask you a question?"

"Why did I let you into Beacon?" guessed Night

Reyson was again taken aback, but this time he laughed it off, "That obvious huh?

"Well, given what happened today, and the well known reputation you have...it was a bit obvious."

"Yeah... Do you mind answering though?"

Instead of answering, Night turned towards a laptop on his desk. He brought up a video file and turned it to Reyson.

On screen, the video played, and Reyson appeared, bowing to the camera slightly, "This message is for Headmaster Night of Beacon Academy. My name is Reyson Heron, yes, that Heron, as in Heron Clan. I am here to ask for your help. I wish to come to Beacon Academy. You might find this odd, as no Heron has been at Beacon for generations. But my reasoning is simple, I don't want to be anywhere near my family. I'm different than them, I don't want-"

Night stopped the file and looked right at Reyson, who was very surprised at what he just saw, "I think you know the rest."

"You kept that?"

"Of course, it was your entrance exam...in my opinion anyway."

"So that was really the reason? Despite everything I had done at my previous school?"

"Action are important, but reason and meaning are the other. In truth, you remind me of someone I used to know. He too was a "barbarian", but an honorable one. He did a lot of good in the world, and I think you can too, as long as you're away from your family."

They both laughed at the jest. Reyson looked content for the first time, "You really think I can be something more than a bloodthirsty warrior?"

"Of course. He was that way once, he changed, why not you?"

Again content, Reyson smiled kindly to Night and bowed to him, Night returned the gesture. Reyson made to leave, but stopped just short of the door, "Sir? The one you speak of, he wouldn't happen to have been a member of your team would he? On KGHT?"

"He was, goodnight Reyson."

"Goodnight Headmaster."

Reyson left and closed the door behind him. Night waited to ensure he was gone then turned to the window to again look out at the world. This time though, his expression was very sad, "Yes he was Reyson, and I miss him so very much. It's my hope you don't meet his fate."

*credits*


	9. Chapter 8

GRYD - Chapter 8 - Building Up

Afternoon at Beacon, students roam the halls as they either go to class, or start doing the homework they've been given, or just hanging out with their friends to kill time.

In one such hallway was Leilani, who had her head buried in a drawing she was doing in her notebook. She was doing a very detailed drawing of her team, and was working on the face and hair details. With no wasted motion she would switch art tools and continue with her picture.

As she reached a crossroads of sorts within the hallway, she didn't notice a group of girls heading into her path, and as such collided with them, causing her and two of the girls to fall to the floor.

"Sorry, sorry!" said Leilani picking up her things, "I forget to look up when I'm drawing!"

"Learn to start!" shouted back one

"I said I was..."

Leilani looked up and saw that she had collided with the members of Team PRME, three of which were glaring at her with extreme venom. None moreso than Primrose.

"Well?" she said still glaring at Leilani

"Well what?"

"Say you're sorry!"

"I...I already said that."

"She wants you to mean it this time." noted Rita with an evil smirk

"I meant it the first time."

"Oh really?" Primrose said in mocking tone, "Then I guess I should mean I'm sorry when I rip up...this."

She held up Leilani's picture of her team and flaunted it in front of her. Leilani reacted instantly, "Give that back!"

Leilani sprang forward to grab it, but Rita stepped in front and shoved her back to the ground. This made Primrose laugh gleefully, "Thank you Rita."

"My pleasure." she said with a curtsy

"Now where was I? Oh yes. Say you're sorry...or I'm going to be sorry."

Leilani just sat there, staring longingly at the picture. With no response, Primrose shrugged, "Ok. In that case."

She began to lower her second hand to start ripping up the picture. Just as she did though, someone grabbed it.

They all turned, and saw Glyph. Leilani smiled in relief and joy, while Primrose regained her venomous glare, "You!?"

"Give it back." he demanded

"Or what?" said Rita

She closed the distance on Glyph, when a hand on her shoulder stopped her cold, she turned to see Macro smiling at her, "Well, to quote Primrose, if you don't back off...I'm going to be sorry. For what I'll let him do to you that is."

"Give. It. Back." Glyph demanded again

Primrose continued to fire venomous looks at Glyph, but he was unfazed. Knowing she was beaten, she held out her arm with the picture towards Leilani, "Here."

"Say. You're. Sorry."

"I'm sorry."

"Mean it." added Macro, now angry

With all the sincerity she could muster, Primrose turned to Leilani and said, "I'm sorry."

Leilani stood up and took the picture, and gave a nod of appreciation of Primrose. Content, both Glyph and Macro released the PRME members, then motioned for them to leave. Once clear from sight, they turned their attention to Leilani.

"You ok?" asked Macro checking on her

"Yeah," she answered sadly, playing with her rabbit ears, "just embarrassed."

Glyph looked at her with honest eyes, "Don't be. You did nothing wrong."

"Maybe, but I should've been ok on my own. You shouldn't have had to interfere on my behalf."

"Maybe," mirrored Macro in a mock voice, causing Leilani to laugh, "but friends protect each other. Besides, we know all about Primrose and her goons. If they had done that to you? They wouldn't have stopped torturing you as time went on."

"Now they'll think twice." added Glyph

Leilani smiled appreciatively to both of them, as she did, Glyph caught a glimpse of the picture, "You do that?"

"What? Oh yes, it was what I was working on before I literally ran into them."

"It's lovely."

She blushed, and reacted quickly to hide it from him, "Thank...thank you."

"Maybe you can do one of my team."

She turned to him in surprise, "I'd...love to."

"Great. Macro."

"See you later." Macro responded with a wave

With a nod to them both, Glyph left. Both Macro and Leilani watched as he went down the hall and out of sight, but for completely different reasons.

Leilani sighed sadly once he was fully gone, "He must think I'm a weak idiot."

"What?" said Macro incredulously, not understanding why she said that, "Where'd that come from?"

"It's nothing..."

She tried to leave, but Macro got in front of her and made Leilani look at him, "Come on..."

"It's just. I can't be comfortable around him."

Macro snickered, "Gee, I wonder why..."

Leilani shot upright and immediately blushed, "What do you mean?"

"Oh come on Leilani, don't play dumb."

She became even more flustered at this, "Does everyone close to me know?"

"Probably."

"Does...does Glyph know?"

Macro looked around uncomfortably before focusing back on her, "Do you the want the truth, or the answer that'll make you feel better?

Leilani groaned in frustration and proceeded down a hallway. Macro sighed and followed her, "Out with it, why are you so down on yourself?"

"I just, I'm just not good around people."

"Like human people? Or people in general?"

"People in general."

"That's bull, you're great around us! MEAL I mean."

"Oh really? Tell me, who do I talk with when I'm alone?"

"Me."

Leilani stopped and looked at him with a blank face, "How many times?"

Macro opened his mouth to speak, but then a surprised look on his face, he went into deep thought before replying, "Three."

"And how many times did I start those conversations?"

"...none."

"Exactly."

She tried to leave, but he cut her off again, "Ok, but Erin! Female Erin I mean. You talk with her all the time!"

Leilani gave him a sad smile, "Less than you think, but I acknowledge she's the only one I'm good with on our team when I'm by myself. I don't talk to male Aaron at all unless we're all together."

"I never noticed, I know you talk to us though."

"Yeah...but who am I with when that happens?"

Macro again went into thought, then sighed in realization, "Yasmine."

"Yeah..."

Leilani turned and again went back down the hall, her expression filled with sadness. Macro continued to follow her.

"When we were kids, all me and Yasmine had were each other."

"Because of Faunus hatred?"

"Yeah. My parents made the best of it, and so did we. We bonded together like few families ever get to do. But it came at a cost. Yasmine's very closed off, not wanting to interact with those who don't understand her, or don't "measure up". Me? I'm just naturally shy and withdrawn. I have trouble talking with those I'm not close with, like Yasmine."

"You're talking fine with me."

Leilani smiled kindly to him, "I trust you, and this doesn't make me nervous or stressed. We talk about something else? More personal? Not so much."

"So talking about you asking out Glyph won't work then?"

As if on cue, Leilani froze in place, face stricken with fear. Macro reared around quickly and waved off the notion.

"That was a joke! Seriously."

She laughed nervously and unfroze, "Right..."

"So uh...what did you and Yasmine do together when you were young?"

Leilani loosened up and smiled as she recalled her memories, "Often we spent all day at our parents shop. Yasmine would work hard to come up with plans to help make the place a success, I would help by fulfilling her plans."

"Meaning?"

"Uh...she thought it up, I made it work. It's actually part of how I became a good artist. I would draw, craft, build, whatever the store needed to make it shine."

"You're good with your hands, good to know."

"Unfortunately, once we got to school, I only had my drawings to do. I clung to Yasmine like nothing else. She didn't mind, we wanted to be together. But now...?"

"Different teams, different circles. You have to stand on your own."

"And I suck at that."

The two looked at each other and laughed. Leilani went to a nearby window and looked out it, "I'm ok in battle, but when it comes to just talking to people? I'm 50-50 at best."

"You just got to put yourself out there, like you did with Erin."

"Maybe, but as you saw with Glyph, that's not always so easy. Thanks for talking with me Macro. I'm...I'm going to see what Yasmine is doing."

"Ok."

Leilani smiled to him before leaving, he watched as she went, sad and frustrated as he didn't know what to do with her.

A little while later, they went to culture class. Professor Vixi Tod watched over them during the entire lesson. As time wound down, she got up from her desk and addressed them all.

"Class, based on your performance in the recent mission, Headmaster Night has greenlit me to give you another one."

"Nice!" said Reyson loudly, "Time for some more action!"

Vixi laughed knowingly, "Not quite Mr. Heron. As you know, not all missions are offensive, or even defensive. Some are just support. This one is just that, support."

She calmly walked to the blackboard and pointed at the map of Remnant, "Though our world has several key populated places, there are several villages, towns, and oasis of sorts scattered between the major cities."

"Isn't that dangerous?" asked one student

"Very. Between bandits and Grimm, it's not an easy living. But, if you're careful, plan ahead, and have a bit of luck, you can last a very long time. There are some villages still around from when I was in your seats. No jokes about my age please."

The class snickered at her own jest. Vixi smiled and again walked towards them, "That being said, even the most prepared village needs some help. So, we're going to offer it. Each team will be given a town that needs aid in some measure. This will be a dual test if you will. First, your leaders will have to determine what task you can handle, then of course, you'll have to complete the mission. Any questions?"

She looked around, and saw Yasmine had her hand raised, "Yes, Ms. Kaleido?"

"Though you said these were strictly support mission, there is still risk involved. Will we be by ourselves like we were in the Emerald Forest mission?"

"Ah! Thank you for reminding me, the answer is no. We were watching you in the forest to ensure nothing serious happened, but we can't do that in the larger world. So, you'll each have a chaperone via a teacher here. And yes, that includes me."

Macro raised his hand, and Vixi nodded to him, "How long can we expect the mission to be ma'am?"

"Another good question. Two to three days. Some of these villages do need a lot of help, and though we've given them warning that we're coming, so that they can have all the materials and items that we may need ready, it's still going to take some time. So be prepared for a few nights out there. Oh, and you'll have tomorrow to prepare for everything, you leave the morning after. Anything else?"

She looked around, and saw no one else had any questions, "Good. Then all of you, save for your leaders, are dismissed. Leaders, come down here and read the mission briefings for each village. You'll need to pick a task before you leave, first come first serve. Class dismissed."

The class rose to leave, only the leaders of the various teams stayed. Glyph and Macro waited for the rush to the missions to happen before walking down.

"I got a question for you." said Macro to Glyph

"Ok."

"I need your advice."

Glyph held out an arm in front of him, which made Macro stop, "You? Need advice from me?"

"Yeah, I need advice about how to handle one of my teammates."

"From ME?"

"It's...about Leilani..."

This made Glyph curious, and he heard out Macro.

The next day passed in a whirl of classes and preparation for the mission that was to come. As the day after dawned, each team was given an attendant that would guide them to their chaperone and their ride to their village.

As Team Meal reached the outskirts of Beacon, an airship greeted them from above. The wind created from the craft pushed them back a bit, but they held their ground. Once it landed, the door to it opened, and inside was none other than Professor Tod. Who smiled at them as they reacted to seeing her.

"Sorry," Vixi said with a playful shrug, "I don't get to be "cool" that much, so I wanted to arrive in style."

"A more majestic entrance you could not ask for professor." said Aaron with pride

"Well thank you Aaron. Now, come on in! We got an hour ride to our destination, I want to give you a full rundown of what's coming for us."

She motioned them aboard, and with Macro's approval, they all headed onto the ship. Once seated and secured, Vixi gave the pilot permission to take off. The airship slowly rose into the air and headed off into the blue sky.

After a few moments, Vixi turned to Team MEAL, "How much did Macro tell you about the mission?"

"Not much," Erin said with a look to Macro, who smiled in return, "all he told us was, "prepare to get your hands dirty."

Vixi laughed at this, "Well, he was honest. To be truthful, he picked one of the least likely spots to get blindsided by Grimm or bandits, I was a little surprised."

"Even a soldier knows when his team needs to do something other than fighting." said Macro wisely

"Very true."

"So what's wrong with this village we're going to?" asked Leilani

"Well Leilani, the village is called Chechon. And though it was a very protected place, it got hit by bandits last week. There was a big fight, and a lot of houses got destroyed."

"Hold on now," interjected Aaron, "didn't you just say that this was a very unlikely place to be attacked? Even if the attack was last week, the Grimm are no doubt on their way via the negative emotions that the fight generated."

"Usually, that would be true, but one of the reasons Chechon has lasted is because of its distance away from major Grimm clusters. The closest one at last survey was over 20 miles away, even hate doesn't go that far."

"Oh, so the bandits attacked it without fear because they knew the Grimm wouldn't follow." noted Erin figuring out what happened

Vixi nodded, "Exactly. However, they didn't account for the townsfolk being very competent fighters. The bandits were beaten off eventually, but the damage was done. They sent out a request for aid, and Night was more than happy to respond. He sent early help to ensure the resources for the rebuild could be found and secured, and then set up this lovely little field trip to get it done."

"So what is our role in this exactly?" queried Aaron, "Are we building? Supporting? Supervising?"

"Nice try with that last one. No, you'll be coordinating the build and helping restore what was broken. As well as helping out with the little ones should they become a problem."

"What about their parents?" asked Erin

"Everyone that's not a child is rebuilding. They honestly lost a lot of homes. They spent the last few days huddled together in crammed houses or makeshift shacks. Even with no Grimm around, it was hard to build that village. Rebuilding it is no easy task."

"We'll get it done professor." said Macro confidently

"Glad to hear it. If we're lucky we'll only be here two days. There's a lot of people who are helping, they just need a little reassurance. You'll all do fine."

With a smile to comfort them, she went silent and looked out the airship window. The others soon followed suit, and waited for their ride to end so their work could begin.

Soon, the airship descended on a small clearing, but it didn't land, merely hovered off the ground a bit so that they could jump out. Once all out, Vixi gave them a motion that they could leave. They watched the airship leave. Then Vixi turned and pointed in the opposite direction, "It's that way."

They walked for about a minute, then noises began to fill their ears. They grew louder the further they went, until the sight of people cleared up any confusion of what was making it. As the group took their first look at the village, they could tell that the briefing was accurate. Many homes were destroyed, and there was a frantic feel in the way the villagers looked and talked with one another.

One of the elder villagers noticed their group and proceeded towards them, he looked to Professor Tod first, "Are you the ones they sent to help?"

"Yes," she replied with a bow, "I'm Professor Vixi Tod, and this is Team MEAL. We're here to rebuild your village, no matter how long it takes."

The elder looked at MEAL with some skepticism, but when they each gave him a confident nod to show their support, he relaxed and smiled, "Good, we need it. As it so happens, the final materials we needed to rebuild came in early this morning. I can show them to you if you want."

"By all means."

With a wave of his hand he got them to follow him as he walked through the village. The villagers all looked upon them with curiosity. Some were clearly unsure of how these five would help, while others looked relieved at the assistance. Though Vixi and most of MEAL were unfazed by their gazes, Leilani got more and more uncomfortable with each look she saw.

After a minute walk, the elder took them to another opening, this one though had piles of lumber and metal stacked up in rows and columns.

"We believe this will help build everything we need to survive. When would you like to get started?"

Macro stepped forward and went over the materials in his mind, then turned to the elder, "If you have a blueprint of how the city was before the attack, I can get us started in 15 minutes."

The elder was taken aback by this, "I'll...I'll go get you one."

"Thank you, also, let me know who's able to help, and what buildings only need to be repaired, not rebuilt."

"Ok."

The elder left to get what he requested. Macro turned to see his team looking at him with surprise, "What?"

"I know you're our leader, but that was some take charge attitude!" boasted Aaron

"I picked this mission for three reasons, one was because of likelihood of attack. The other was because I helped on reconstruction missions with my dad."

"What's the third?" asked Erin

"That's a secret."

Before they could try and get the information out of him, the elder returned with the blueprint. After examining it, Macro asked numerous questions of the elder. Then together they planned out what they wanted to do. After a while, a plan was in place. The elder went to the villagers to explain it, while Macro addressed his team.

"Ok, plan is set. Lovers? You'll be helping get materials to wherever it needs to go."

"On it." they said in unison

"Professor, would you mind helping Leilani in doing some repair work?"

"It would be my pleasure." said Vixi with an approving nod

"You ok with repair work Leilani?"

"Yeah, I did a lot of it at my parents shop."

"There you go. It all works out."

"What about you Macro?" wondered Vixi

"I'm going to be helping with the bigger projects, my E-Tool is good for precise cuts. I'll also be coordinating so that this gets done in a fast and efficient manner. These people need to sleep in their own homes. If we're lucky? Over half will be done by tonight. That sound good?"

They all nodded in agreement, which made Macro smile, "Then let's go to work!"

With that, they all went to the center of the village, where the elder was finishing up telling the people what was going to happen. Passing the torch to Macro, he laid down the plan as simply as he could, then immediately got everyone to work.

Macro led the charge, answering all questions he could, all the while building houses and preparing supplies to be used. When he didn't have the answers, he went to the village elder for guidance, who happily helped fill in the blanks in his knowledge.

The Lovers acted as the gophers, getting all the materials to wherever they needed to go, or getting someone something when they needed it. They often did it together, but occasionally they would separate the numerous tasks were done quickly.

Vixi and Leilani worked with others to help repair the houses that weren't fully destroyed. Though few compared to the destroyed houses, the damage was still significant, and thus needed to be done. Leilani let Vixi do the talking when it came to working with the villagers who were assigned to them. Often not even making eye contact with them, but rather focusing on the work.

At one point, a child came up to Leilani and tapped her on the shoulder while she was doing some work. She nearly jumped at the shock of the child doing it, but was able to stop herself, and turned to face them, "Yes?"

The boy looked at her with curiosity, "Are you a Faunus?"

Leilani became nervous at the question, "...yes, yes I am."

"Wow, we don't see Faunus down here."

"I'm...I'm sorry."

"Do you think I can show you to my friends? They'd totally want to see you!"

Leilani got more flustered, even beginning to twitch in place, "I...um...maybe...maybe later. We...we have work to do. We need...we need to fix your homes, right?"

The boy thought about it, then shrugged, "Right, ok."

Slightly dejected, he walked away from the two. Leilani sighed in relief at his departure, even taking several deep breaths to calm herself. A little bit away, Vixi saw this, and frowned.

After several hours of construction, and with darkness setting in, the village stopped working for the day. To their delight, as Macro had intended, a vast majority of the work had been finished. Including an inn where much of the village could stay until the final houses were repaired or rebuilt.

To show appreciation for the hard work, the elder ordered a feast to be made at the inn, and for everyone to partake. This included Vixi and Team MEAL, who were given a special dedication before the meal.

"To Professor Tod and Team MEAL, we thank you for your help in fixing our home." said the elder

The rest of the village cheered for them, then proceeded to get their food. When Leilani got her food, she chose to sit at a table far away from everyone else. While the villagers, and her team, talked amongst one another, she just wanted to be alone.

She poked and prodded her food for some time, until the sound of someone sitting across from her got her attention. To her surprise, it was Vixi who was sitting next to her.

"It's hard, isn't it? Mingling with people you don't know, or don't feel comfortable being around fully?"

Leilani sputtered her words at the preciseness of Vixi's query, "I...yeah, yeah."

"Breathe, Leilani, breathe. It's ok."

Leilani did so, and looked back at her teacher with sadness and confusion, "I don't want to be this way, but after everything me and Yasmine have been through? Just the thought of someone other than her talking to me can cause me to freeze up. Especially humans."

"Ah, that I get. I had problem myself."

"You did?"

Vixi nodded with a knowing smile, "Yeah, but for a reason different than you. Though, it was just as hateful."

"How so?"

"My mother is a fox Faunus like me. My father? He's human."

This really took Leilani aback, "Really?"

"Yeah, it's not too common, because of the hatred, but my father is anything but common. He loves my mother with all he has, and he doesn't care about the hate that's thrown at him. Even his parents hated the idea of him being with her, and so they disowned him, didn't want their family name "stained" by Faunus blood."

"That's horrible!" cried out Leilani

"Yeah, it was. And when I grew old enough to go into the world, a lot of hate was thrown on me because of my mixed heritage as much as my Faunus looks. I clung to my parents for a long time. Until my dad sat me down and told me something I'll never forget."

"What was that?"

Vixi smiled and looked out in a daydream like state, "He said, I didn't fall in love with your mother because she was a Faunus, or was strong, or smart, or anything as base as that. I fell for your mother, because to me, she had the beautiful soul I had ever seen. I looked beyond who she was, and looked at what she was, and that made me love her so much."

Both Leilani and Vixi teared up a bit at the beauty of the remark. Vixi was the first to recover, "My dad had a way with words."

"I'll say." agreed Leilani, drying off the tears

"The point is Leilani, that sometimes, you need to go beyond what you see, or even what you fear, in order to live. You fear persecution, you fear people judging you because you're a Faunus, and that's fair given your life. But I've read you papers Leilani, I can tell who you are by what you wrote. You are a smart, kind, creative, beautiful soul. Let people see that, and they'll befriend you, no doubt. Some won't, I won't lie, but that'll because they refuse to see YOU, not because YOU were afraid to show them who you were. Understand?"

Leilani paused to think about her teachers words, and after a while she nodded, "I think so."

"Good girl. Now let's eat, lot of work still to do tomorrow."

With that, Vixi began wolfing down her food, Leilani couldn't help but laugh at this, then joined her in eating.

The next day, after a small breakfast to get them energized, the people of the village, along with Vixi and Team MEAL, began anew on the reconstruction. With much of the work done the previous night, the groups were more focused than ever on their tasks so that they could get done that day.

While some things didn't change from the previous day, Leilani seemed to have a bigger pep in her step. At times bouncing from project to project in order to get it done quickly, or to do something that simply needed to be done. Unlike the previous day, she talking more with the villagers as they came to her or Vixi with questions or advice.

Soon, the boy from the day before returned, this time with some friends. They watched from afar as Leilani fixed a house, and at times used her Semblance to jump high into the air to do some repairs, or jump down to grab an item. The children gaped in amazement at Leilani as she did this.

Eventually, the house she was working on was done, and the children couldn't help but come to her. A girl grabbed her by the hand to get her attention, "Ms. Bunny? Would you play with us? Your hopping is so cool!"

Leilani was taken aback by this, and at first, she was overwhelmed by the requests of children, but after a deep breath she calmed herself down, "I think I can, just let me check with my-"

"Go ahead Leilani!" called out Vixi a few feet away, who was smiling brightly at the situation she was seeing, "We're basically done with the repair work anyway, go ahead and have some fun!"

"Oh...ok. Uh, lead the way!"

To the kids delight, they began to run around the village and play. Sometimes they played tag, or at times hide-and-seek. The only rule being to not interfere with the adults. Though still withdrawn to an extent, the more she played with the kids, the more Leilani relaxed, and got to have fun.

After a while, the kids took her to a sandy area not too far away where they could relax. Leilani couldn't help but smile and laugh at the fun she was having, "This is great you guys, I'm glad you invited me along."

"Yeah, you're great Ms. Leilani!" said a boy, "I wish we could've shown you our clubhouse."

"Clubhouse?"

A girl next to the boy nodded, "Yeah, it was our little home away from home, just for us kids. But it was broken in the attack. There wasn't even any wood left to try and fix it."

The kids became sad at this, and Leilani frowned too as she saw their disheartened faces. Then, her face became a light as she thought of an idea, "Oh! That might work. Give me a sec."

She got to her feet, then sprung high into the air. Then landed with some effort next to Macro, who was still guiding the construction effort.

After a moment, he noticed her and smiled, "Hey Leilani, the kids alright?"

"Yeah, um, do we have any spare wood I could use? The kids apparently had a clubhouse before the attack, and I'd like to rebuild it if I can."

"Hmm...let me see..."

Macro turned away from her, and had to hold back a smile and a laugh, after a moment though he pulled it together and turned back to her.

"Yeah, we have some spare wood. That pile over there? You can use that, oh, and anything from the scrap pile over there. Cool?"

"Cool, thanks Macro!"

With glee, she sprang away again, making Macro again smile and laugh at the success he was having.

Once back with the kids, she talked with them about remaking the clubhouse. They all agreed to help, and work began immediately. With an hour, it was made, but as the kids looked at it, they didn't smile.

"Something's...wrong..." noted one

"Yeah, it feels hollow..." remarked another

"Didn't it have color before?" asked one

"Color?" said Leilani with a smile, "I can fix that."

Grin even wider, she whipped off her sash filled with markers and sharpies and began to work on the clubhouse. Through some special attachments, she made the work go even faster. Until the whole thing was filled with a variety of colors. The colors were awestruck at what they saw, and immediately hugged Leilani and thanked her for her work.

From afar, Macro watched with pride as she began to play with the children again. Vixi came up behind him and watched her as well, "Nice secret, Mr. Camof."

He turned and smiled, "What do you mean?"

"Your third reason for picking this reason, you wanted to help Leliani with her fear of people, didn't you?"

"I wanted to try at least. This..." he said with a motion to the children, "is more than I could've hoped for."

"Think she'll be more open after this?"

"That's up to her. I can only encourage growth, it's up to her to make it happen."

"You're a good leader, Macro."

"Thank you ma'am. But it's only because I have a team of great people."

They continued to watch as Leilani laughed and smiled as she played with the children.

*credits*


	10. Chapter 9

**GRYD Chapter 9: Sins Of The Past**

Glyph struck.

In a blacked area, Glyph fought against a tall silhouetted figured. The two traded blows back and forth, the clashes and impacts echoed through the blackness of the area. With each strike though, Glyph became angrier, and angrier. His movements became more frenzied, and harmful to both sides. Eventually, Glyph teleported away, which caused the silhouette to stop.

Before the being could find Glyph, he reappeared, and struck, then vanished again. In a flurry of motion, he teleported all around the being and struck repeatedly with his escrima. This continued for several seconds until a particular strike sent the silhouette flying backwards, and skidding to a halt on the ground.

Face still full of fury, Glyph morphed his escrima into his shotgun and approached the silhouette. This time though, the being held out a hand to try and stop him.

"I...I..." the silhouette sputtered out

"You what?" bit back Glyph

"I...was trying...to help you..."

The being seemed to choke on the air it was breathing, then fell lifeless the ground. Glyph was stricken with fear. His breathing went rapid, and looked around for anyone that might have been there to help. When he couldn't see anyone, he panicked.

"No...no...NO!"

His scream filled the darkness, until even he was consumed by it.

In GRYD's room at Beacon, Glyph woke up with a start, his breathing still heavy. He leaned himself up against his bed frame, and tried to calm himself. His expression to turned to one of sadness and pain as he realized it was only a dream. After a few more deep breaths, he quietly reinserted himself into his bed and returned to sleep.

Across the room, Diana slowly rose up, and looked at Glyph with curiosity.

The next day, the students gathered for training. Lochen called many down for matches, as time went on, there was time for one final match.

"I'm feeling generous..." said Locken with a grin, "so...Randomizer!"

He motioned to the big screen in amphitheater, and the profiles of the students began to cycle through. Eventually, two names stopped, and everyone gasped in surprised. Even Lochen was taken aback.

"Wow...Primrose Madonna, vs., Elenor Rigby. Man, this in-fighting is getting out of hand."

Lochen shrugged his shoulders and proceeded back to the stage. Elenor and Primrose meanwhile rose up from their seats and proceeded down. Glyph caught a look at Elenor's face, and saw she was nervous. As they got onto the stage, a chant had started for Primrose. It was started by her fellow PRME teammates Rita and Maggie, but others join in soon as well.

Eventually, as the two prepared for combat, the chant of "Primrose! Primrose!" filled up the amphitheater. Glyph gazed at Elenor, and saw she's more distraught than ever, while Primrose curtsied to her fans. Lochen stepped off the stage and motioned the students to be quiet.

Once they were silent, Glyph stood up, "Go Elenor!"

The entire student body turned to Glyph, who was still standing. Both Primrose and Elenor looked as well. Primrose grew furious, while Elenor just looked stunned at his support. He nodded confidently to Elenor, then sat down back down, eyes of the students still glued on him.

Lochen chuckled at the turn of events, then faced the two, "Ok ladies, keep it clean. If you go Reyson on me, you'll be punished. Ok? Match begin!"

Without hesitation, Primrose rushed towards Elenor, and swung at her with her poleax. Elenor barely dodged in time, and immediately went on the defensive with her bladed Tonfa. Primrose bared her teeth as she swung viciously at her teammate.

But when an opening appeared, Elenor struck with her gun port on the end of the Tonfa, striking Primrose right on the chin, which sent her flying. The students gasped at this mostly, Glyph though just smiled.

Elenor seemed surprised by her attack, but steeled herself up as Primrose rose to her feet, "You think this is funny, don't you? You're not getting the best of me. Do you hear me?"

Primrose began to glow, her Aura manifesting. She raised her poleaxe high, eyes wild with fury, "You're...NOT!"

She slammed the axe into the ground, and a massive wave of energy shot out from it and raced towards Elenor, who looked stunned at the attack, and didn't move.

"Dodge it Elenor!" shouted Glyph

Snapping to, she dodged just in time, only for Primrose to unleash more energy waves at her. Each time she dodged, but in doing so, it allowed Primrose to get closer, and force her into a place she wanted. Once in range, she swung her axe at Elenor, and the battle again became close range. Both sides exchanged blows on the other as the pace quickened.

While Primrose continued her frenzied strike, Elenor remained calm and patient, and waited for openings to appear.

"You got this Elenor!" Glyph blasted from the upper seating

Primrose got very agitated at his continued praise of Elenor, this lead to her striking without firm footing. Elenor saw this and capitalized. She swept the legs out from under her, and then released a flurry of strikes of Primrose, that concluded with a dual blast from her Tonfa. Primrose again skidded on the ground, but this time, didn't get up easily.

The buzzer sounded, and in surprise, Elenor looked up and saw that she had won handily. The crowd was silent, except for Glyph, who laughed silently. Clapping got the attention of all though, as Lochen approached the stage and congratulated Elenor.

"Nice job Elenor. I believe that's your first victory in one-one-one combat, am I right?" he asked

"Yes Professor," Elenor replied meekly

"Well, if you keep doing what you did here? You'll be just fine."

She smiled pleased, and Lochen nodded in appreciation of the fight, then turned to the class, "Take notes people, this is a lesson for you all. Don't underestimate your opponent. Ever. Just because they're an underdog doesn't mean they can't win."

"Especially when they have help." barked Primrose, who used her axe to again get to her feet

Lochen looked at her displeased, "What do you mean?"

"Glyph was cheering her all match! These are supposed to be silent exhibitions!"

"Oh really? When did I say they couldn't cheer during a match?"

Primrose made to speak, but Lochen's look shut her down, and she growled angrily instead.

"That's what I thought. It's true, I dim the lights so that you two won't be distracted by the crowd, but I could easily leave them on. As for cheering, who cares? He didn't give her valuable information on how to beat you. She did that all on her own."

"He should know his place and-

"You think Grimm know their place when they're trying to kill you?" roared Lochen, as he marched right up to Primrose and glared at her intensely, "Distractions happen Ms. Madonna! In the field, in schools, in life. It's how you deal with them that makes you strong. And if you think for one second, that full scale battles against Grimm aren't going to be a sensory overload? Then you better quit this school before you get killed. And that goes for all of you! Class dismissed."

Lochen stomped off the stage and left the amphitheater. Still stunned, the students waited for awhile before leaving themselves.

Out in the hallway, Glyph, Macro, and the rest of GRYD and MEAL watched as the various students left. Eventually, Glyph saw Elenor, who was desperately trying to talk to her teammates, who gave her no attention.

After they left her in the hallway, she turned and saw Glyph looking at her. He smiled and gave her a thumbs-up, and mouthed, "Good job".

This made Elenor smile, and she mouthed, "Thank you" to him before going after her team.

Macro laughed as he saw that encounter, "You know, I know you don't care about stuff like that. But...that's how you get girls to love you."

Glyph smiled, "I'm not worried about Elenor having feelings for me."

"Why not?"

"Because she's gay."

Macro, and some of the others, were stunned at this reveal. Glyph laughed softly at their reactions. One who didn't react to either comment was Diana, who was focused on Glyph solely.

"Why'd you do it?" she asked, eyes still on him

"Do what?"

"Root for her, encourage her during the fight?"

Glyph shrugged, "She was afraid of fighting Primrose. But for personal reasons, not battle ones. No one should live in fear like that."

"What about you? What do you fear?"

He grew tense at this, and Macro got very uneasy, "Diana..."

"I'm just asking. You've had a lot of nightmares recently, last night included. What makes Glyph Masteron afraid?"

Glyph's face twitched as he looked angrily at Diana, who gazed back at him unflinchingly. Macro tried to calm him down, "You don't-"

He held a hand up to stop him, then calmly stated, "Repeating my sins."

With that, he walked away, leaving the others curious as to what just happened. Macro sighed heavily at the encounter, "Thanks a lot Diana, now he'll be sulking the rest of the day."

"I asked a question." she stated firmly

"You asked a personal one." corrected Leilani

"A loaded one." mocked Reyson

Macro glared at her, "Worse, you asked a stupid one! You know what he thinks about a lot. Can you really not put 2 and 2 together?"

"Not when I don't know the details!" Diana shouted angrily, "I get it, I was in Atlas when that thing with Glyph happened. But all I've heard since I got here is conflicting stories about what he did! I've asked the Lovers what happened, they wouldn't tell me."

"Don't put your failed pining attempt on us," Aaron noted bitterly

"And it's our place to tell you what happened," added Erin with a shake of her head

Diana scoffed and looked to Macro, "How about you? Why don't you tell those of us not in the know?"

Macro made to speak, but held back his tongue. Diana got closer to him, and made Macro look at her.

"Look, I know I rub you all the wrong way sometimes, even Glyph, but there's one thing none of you can deny: I'm his partner. And we will be for the next few years. Despite what you all think, I wasn't teasing him, or trying to connect with him with that question, I just wanted to know. Because my partner is a mystery to me in many ways, and that might get us killed later on! So tell me what happened Macro! I deserve to know!"

"That's not your call," Yasmine stated, "you may be his partner, but that doesn't mean-"

"Wait...wait..." said Macro, making them all turn to him, "She's right. You deserve to know the truth. The REAL truth, not some facsimile. You too Yasmine and Leilani, Reyson, I know you've wondered about it too."

Reyson laughed mockingly, "I never really cared. I like knowing my leader has a dark side."

Leilani played with her ears nervously, " I wondered, just out of curiosity."

"It was a tale that even reached our village," revealed Yasmine, "it's impossible not to be curious about what happened."

Macro laughed bitterly, "Yeah, well, I'm sure by the time it got there it was distorted heavily. Look, I'll tell you. But not now, wait until after classes, then meet me under the big tree outside, I'll tell you there. But not a word to Glyph beforehand or I'll stay silent."

"Done." said Diana quickly

"Good. Let's go to class."

He headed off without waiting for them, Diana followed next, then the others joined them. Hours passed, and the classes continued. Both teams focused on what was being talked about, except for Diana, who continually looked at the clock, waiting for the classes to be over so she could hear what Glyph did.

Eventually, the final class ended, and Diana raced out to the tree Macro said to meet him under. The others trickled in one by one. Macro brought up the rear, his face conflicted as to whether he should tell Glyph's tale or not.

Diana caught on that he was feeling this, and wagged a finger warningly, "Don't back out now Macro."

"I'm not! I'm not...I just haven't told this story in a while."

"Who'd you tell last?" asked Leilani curious

"My father. He needed to know. Know that Glyph wasn't a threat, to me anyway."

"Because you supported him afterwards?" wondered Yasmine

"Yes, one of the few."

Diana got more impatient, "Enough stalling! Get on with it!"

This made Macro angry, "Calm down, or I leave."

Diana bit her tongue, and slowly lowered herself to the ground and sat. The others did the same. Macro pulled out his E-Tool and plunged it into the ground before sitting.

He tapped the hilt of the tool, "Funnily enough, this weapon is how me and Glyph met. It's the true beginning of the story."

Years previous, at Signal Academy, young students were at work benches. Each student was surrounded by tools, and were working hard to forge their signature weapons. A young Macro is hard at work, and raced through production of what will become his E-Tool. He carefully sculpted the head of the shovel. Then practiced folding it into his machine gun. Once content, he reverted it back to his E-Tool and slammed it into the table, not unlike what the older Macro had just done before starting the story.

As he enjoyed his moment of bliss, he noticed that a student hadn't even begun work on his. It was Glyph. Though younger, his hair and face were very much the same as he was now. The only difference being a look of sadness upon his face. He simply stared at the table he was at, not moving an inch.

Curious, Macro went over to him, and snapped his fingers in front of Glyph's face to get his attention, "Hey."

Glyph snapped to, and looked at Macro concerned, "What?"

"What do you mean 'what'? Why haven't you started making your weapon?"

"I...I don't know what to make."

Macro shook his head in disbelief, "You want to be a Huntsman, and don't know what weapon you want to wield?"

"No. I don't."

"Wow."

Glyph looked back at the table for a bit, then turned to Macro shyly, "How did you know what you wanted?"

"Me? I'm a soldier, or I will be one day. So I knew my weapon had to reflect that. I've always been fond of machine guns, so that was easy. Just needed to decide what to have for my melee weapon. Soliders should be versatile, be ready for any situation. My dad has an E-Tool I always admired, so I made that."

"You're so certain, I'm jealous."

"Ok, back up!" proclaimed Diana in the present, "Glyph cannot have been that meek."

"Oh really?" laughed Macro, "What, you think he was born tough and broken? Not everyone is like Reyson."

Reyson smiled, not caring about the insult, "I'm one of a kind."

"Thank goodness." noted Yasmine bluntly

The two glared at one another, while The Lovers laughed at their renewed rivalry. Macro cleared his throat to get their attention, "Anyway, yes, he was that way. And not everything changed after what happened. He always tried to talk in 10 words or less if he could help it. That he was born with."

Diana smiled at the reveal, "I can see that."

"So, Glyph was struggling with what to make, so..."

Back in the past, Macro strummed the table Glyph was at, looking at him in contemplation. Glyph got uncomfortable at this, "Please stop doing that."

"I'm trying to help you." stated Macro

"How?"

"By figuring out what weapon you should have. Let's start with basics. What's your Semblance?"

"Teleportation."

"Really? That's cool! What's your range?"

"Right now? Couple of feet. Teachers think I could extend that with practice."

"Makes sense. I say your weapons should reflect that. Couple of feet range...I say you'd be a good close range threat. How about a sword? Or swords?"

Glyph thought about it, then shook his head, "I never really liked blades. Easy to hurt people unintentionally."

Macro nodded in appreciation of the sentiment, "I can appreciate that. Alright, blunt weapon then. I like the idea of you being a dual wielder for some reason. Something...unique. Oh! How about some escrima?"

"What's that?"

"They're like batons, blunt on both ends, which means the only way people can get hurt is if you put force behind them.

The idea intrigued Glyph, and for the first time he smiled, "That sounds cool."

"Awesome. Let's start there then. Where's your graph paper, let's design this out."

Glyph and Macro poured over the design paper, and blueprinted his weapon. Eventually, they worked out the schematics, and both nodded in approval at them.

Then, together, they started to create them. Macro took lead, but Glyph helped any way he could. They started with the base baton, then worked outward on the design to include the gun ports, and the combination into the shotgun. They had to make changes at times to help Glyph, but eventually, they had them finished.

Glyph stood up to wield his escrima for the first time. He swung them around in simple patterns to test them out, until he was content with how they felt. With a nod to Macro, he felt they were finished.

Macro smiled, "Oh yeah, that suits you. Now you just need to name them."

Glyph again became uncomfortable as he mulled over names. He used his arms to see the escrima collapse on the gun port, then looked back at Macro, "How about, the Impact Escrima?"

Macro showed his approval, with a clap and a laugh, "That's epic. And you said you weren't creative."

"I'm not. Really. I don't even know how I would use these in battle."

"Well then, stick with me. My dad taught me how to fight, and how to train others. If you let me, I'll start you off. The teachers will help too no doubt."

"I'd like that."

With a nod, Macro extended his hand, "Macro Camof".

Glyph smiled and shook his hand happily, "Glyph Masterson".

Returning to the present, Macro paused at this part of the story. The others took in the initial meeting of the two.

"So you bonded over weapons? I approve!" teased Reyson

"It's always the simple things that bring people together."

"We can attest to that," said Aaron with a loving look to Erin, who smiled and hugged him in appreciation

"Moving on," said Diana aloud, "what happened next?"

Macro shrugged, "I trained him, as best I could anyway, to get him started. Despite what he said, Macro was a natural, he just needed a push. Between me and the teachers, we gave him that push."

"So was he like a prodigy?" asked Yasmine

He mulled this over, then shook, "No, he struggled at times. Extending the reach of his Semblance was a problem for a while, he still struggles with that. But combat wise? He was gifted. It only got better as time went on and the teachers taught him how to think more creatively in battle. Unfortunately, that's where the problems started."

"How so?" asked Leilani

"Well..."

Macro flashed back to training with Glyph. The two would battle back and forth, using their abilities, and even their Semblances to try and outdo the other. The scenes would change to include other opponents for Glyph, from students, to teachers.

"The more Glyph learned, the more he realized just how good he was. He beat everyone at the school, as you might have heard from Lochen that one time. He didn't lose. This got people's attention. Including the Headmaster."

During a certain training session, Glyph used a flurry of teleportation strikes to beat Macro. Once Macro admitted he was beat, he helped him up. The two laughed at the battle.

"You'd think I'd be used to this by now." joked Macro

"You learning nothing in victory, remember?" said Glyph sagely

"You can't use that on me, I taught you that one!"

They again laughed, but the sound of clapping made them stop. They turned to see a man approaching them. He had on a button up suit, but one that was clearly flexible. He had short, choppy dirty blonde hair. with shining blue eyes.

Both Glyph and Macro went to an attention pose as he approached, and bowed to him, "Headmaster."

The Headmaster laughed, "At ease boys, at ease, I was just enjoying the show. You two are quite a team, though I guess I should expect no less from my top two students."

"You honor us sir." said Macro with another bow

"I don't know if we're the best..." admitted Glyph shyly

This made the Headmaster laugh heartily, "Not the best? Glyph, you are by far the greatest fighter I've seen in regards to students. Heck, I know certain Huntsman and Huntresses who would be very challenged by you."

Glyph became flustered at this, "I...I..."

"Peace, just take the compliment. I meant it. You two keep being great, and you'll be the shining examples of the next generations of Huntsman. Have a good day boys."

With a nod to them both, he left. Both Macro and Glyph waited for him to leave before reacting to what had happened.

Macro was the first to drop his guard, "That was awesome! Headmaster Radian praising us like that? So cool."

"I don't know what to say."

"How about...'Rematch'?"

He held up his E-Tool as a challenge, Glyph smiled and knocked his escrima against it, "You're on."

The two backed up from the other, then readied for battle. Once good, they lunged at the other to start anew.

"I still don't get what tripped him," noted DIana in the present, more confused than ever, "was Glyph not used to being praised?"

"Not like that," said Macro with a shake of the head, "Glyph never really talked about his childhood, but from I gathered, he was always average in what he did. Which was fine, but, he didn't know how to take the praise he got. And that's when it went downhill."

Yasmine's eyes went wide with realization, "He got complacent."

Macro pointed to her in acknowledgement, Reyson made a noise of understanding at this, "Yeah, he said that, when we had that impromptu meeting. I didn't know what he meant though."

"He said it had to do with his Semblance," reminded Diana with a look to them both before fixing her gaze at Macro, "but how does that lead to what happened?"

Macro rubbed his head in frustration, "You have to understand, when you're good at something? It can make you do things unintentionally. If you're smart, you always strive for the best score. If you're strong? You try to prove you're the strongest all the time."

"And if you're a great fighter?" posed Reyson

"You know the answer to that."

Reyson thought about it, then sighed heavily, "You want competition."

"Exactly. For Glyph, he wanted to keep being the best fighter. The problem was, he had no competition, not even with me. He wasn't shy about using his Semblance back then. And when he harnessed it to its full potential? He was unstoppable. He could beat people in seconds flat, me included. Because of that, he got an unintentional thought in his head."

Leilani shifted in her place as she waited for him to continue, "What thought?"

"If I'm this good, do I need to train anymore?

"Oh." said Diana, now understanding where this was going

Macro nodded when he saw she understand, "Yeah. It wasn't wrong to think that in a way, he was that good at Signal, and you know how good he is without his Semblance, as he's proved here. But, some didn't take too kindly to that line of thinking. One in particular."

"The Headmaster." revealed Aaron, Erin nodding in agreement

"The Headmaster."

Back at Signal. Glyph and Macro talked under a tree between classes. Soon, an attendant came up to them.

"Excuse me, Glyph? said the attendant, Glyph turned his attention to them, "The Headmaster would like to see you in his office."

"Ok." responded Glyph, and he got up to follow the attendant, "I'll be back."

"We'll meet up in the mess hall," Macro said with a wave, "it's almost dinner time."

Glyph followed the attendant until they reached the office. Headmaster Radian was there at a large desk, he remained sitting as Glyph walked in. He then motioned the attendant away, "We'll be fine, thank you."

With a bow, the attendant left, and the two then sat in silence just looking at each other. Glyph got more uncomfortable with each passing moment.

"May I be honest Glyph?" asked Radian

"I wouldn't know what else to expect from you Headmaster, " admitted Glyph

"I'm very worried about you."

"Sir?"

"You're doing fine grades wise, you're still the best in the school. It's just...I worry about your combat training."

"How so? Am I faltering in my technique?"

Headmaster Radian exhaled sharply as he tried to put together the right words, "This life Glyph, is a hard one, and because of that, we must never stop evolving as Huntsman and Huntresses. But...you have. You've stopped trying to grow as a fighter."

"I know." said Glyph without flinching, taking the headmaster aback

"You know?"

"Yes Headmaster."

"May I ask why?"

"Because while it's true every fighter should continue to evolve, eventually, they hit a plateau. I've hit mine."

"You think so?"

Glyph's face became confused at the continued questions, "It's like you said, I'm the best fighter in the school. I've beaten everyone, even the teachers! Yes, Grimm are different, far different. But I know my capabilities so well, I should be able to adapt very quickly. To any Grimm, regardless of number or situation. Isn't that good?"

Radian just looked at Glyph intently, then shook his head sadly and looked away, "You don't understand, not yet. I hope you do someday. You're dismissed."

"But Headmaster-"

"Dismissed Glyph. Think about what I've said."

Glyph looked at Headmaster Radian in severe confusion and disbelief, but eventually rose and left. Radian went into deep thought after Glyph was gone, his face intense, yet worried.

As Macro thought over this, the others tried to take in what was said.

"Glyph told you all that, right?" asked Diana

"Word for word, he always had a good memory in situations like that. Ones that affected him deeply."

"How did he take it though?"

"Not well."

"How bad?" wondered Reyson, a small smile growing on his face

Macro chuckled, "Think about how Yasmine reacted to Glyph being leader, and then getting "outshined" by Glyph. Multiple by that by your rage Reyson in regards to your family, then add two months of stewing."

Leilani shuddered at the thought, "Oh my gosh."

"Yeah. At first, he did try to understand..."

The young Glyph sat alone in his room at Signal, he stared at the ceiling, desperately wondering what Radian meant. Memories continued on, Glyph reflected on this in classes, in training, in his down time, his thoughts focused on that conversation.

"...but he couldn't find the answer, and it drove him mad. And I mean that literally. It became his obsession. He either had to find the answer, or prove Radian wrong in his proclamation. And since the first wasn't happening..."

"He did the second. He fought Radian." pieced together Yasmine with a stern look to Macro

He put a hand up in surrender, "I didn't know, he went really quiet after that meeting. I tried to help, he wouldn't let me. But yeah, he did, but it was how he did it that became legend."

"I'm confused about that to be honest," admitted Leilani, "how did Glyph get in a fight with the Headmaster, and no one stop him?"

"Because he used tradition against Radian," revealed Erin with a sad smile

Aaron nodded and leaned in so that all could hear him, "At Signal, there's a tradition that's been around for about a decade, the top ranked student would get a chance to show off their skills against an opponent of their choice, no turndowns. Before this, students usually challenged teachers, or dear friends so that they could put on a show. But not Glyph...he chose a more personal vendetta..."

At Signal, the entire student body gathered in a large gymnasium like area. One filled with rows of seats and bleachers, yet had a massive battle area. One much larger than the one at Beacon. In the center of this arena was Headmaster Radian, who happily greeted the students before he raised a microphone to his lips.

"Hello everyone, and welcome to the celebration ceremony, where we honor the best and brightest of our senior class. As per usual, we start with the combat competition!"

The students cheered, including Macro and the Lovers. Radian waved them down eventually.

"It's no surprise the student who is on the top of the "leaderboard", he is an immensely strong fighter, and one that has conquered all here. Please welcome, Glyph Masterson!"

Radian motioned to his right, and from a doorway came Glyph. His expression was blank, and marched right up to Radian without so much as blinking. Not perturbed by this, Radian motioned to Glyph, and got another applause out of the student body.

"Now Glyph, as tradition states, you may challenge anyone here, no turndowns. But I do ask that you give us a good show with your opponent. No 5 second matches please!"

He laughed, and the students joined with him, only Glyph remained silent. Radian handed him the microphone. Glyph looked at it, then took it, and looked straight at Radian.

"I can challenge...anyone here? Here in the gym? No refusals?"

"Yes!" proclaimed Radian happily with a smile to the students

Glyph seemed to shake, but with what emotion was unclear, "I challenge you, Headmaster."

He dropped the microphone, and the whole room went silent. No one was sure what was happening. Radian's face became very serious, and he looked at Glyph sternly, "Glyph, this is not what I meant..."

"No turndowns," said Glyph through clenched teeth, "you said that, twice."

Radian fidgeted in place, desperate for a way out of this situation. Glyph kept his glare focused on the Headmaster, eager to start the fight. After a few more moments, Radian picked up the microphone, and looked at Glyph.

"I accept your challenge. Attendant, fetch me my weapon."

Glyph smiled evilly then walked to his start area for the battle, and stretched out to make sure he was ready. Radian watched him the whole time, right up until his weapon, a dual ended short scythe, was brought to him.

With it in hand, he headed to the combat area, unbuttoned his suit jacket, then tossed it aside, "It doesn't have to be this way Glyph."

Glyph's glare grew more venomous, "Yes. It. Does."

Silence enveloped the room, until a buzzer sounded and the match began. Uncharacteristically, Glyph rushed right at Radian, who prepared to attack. Once in range, he swung one end of his scythe, but just before contacting Glyph, he vanished. Radian looked around for him, but there was no trace.

Glyph suddenly reappeared behind him, and swept out his legs, then vanished again, then appeared right next to him, and slammed him down with his escrima's gun ports, unloading two massive rounds into his aura. Radian literally bounced off the ground, while Glyph teleported back to the start.

He patiently waited for Radian rise up to his feet. The Headmaster did so, then snapped his weapon in half and tossed it to his side. Where suddenly another Radian stood, an exact copy of the original. The two squared off against Glyph, who smirked at the turn of events.

He again rushed them, and just like before, he vanished just before reaching them. This time though, he reappeared in the exact spot he left from, and did battle head-on with the two. Copies. His focus split, the odds were not with him, but Glyph held his own, and then some. He used his Semblance to repeatedly trip up the Radians, and then gain the upper hand.

After a particular flurry, Glyph saw the copy beginning to fade. He quickly formed his shotgun and blasted it point blank in the head, which caused it to vanish completely.

Re-energized, Glyph vanished, then reappeared behind Radian and began picking him apart piece by piece. He didn't, and wouldn't, let up. Every hit was more personal than the last one, each one with more fury and intensity.

Seeing the end in sight, Glyph let lose a blinding fury of strikes from his escrima, until he again stabbed the gun port ends into Radians chest, which sent him skidding along the floor.

With a desire to hear the words he longed for, Glyph reformed his shotgun and approached Radian, who was only barely conscious. He held out his hand to Glyph to try and stop him.

"I...I..." he sputtered out

"You what?" bit back Glyph

"I...was trying...to help you..."

"What?" asked Glyph, now afraid

"I...was trying...to help you...survive..."

Coughing heavily, Radian eventually passed out from the pain. Glyph was horrified, only now realizing what he had done. He looked to the student body, who was more afraid than he was. His shotgun fell to the floor, and with tears in his eyes, Glyph teleported away.

In the present, Yasmine, Leilani, Reyson, and Diana were all dumbstruck, but for different reasons. The actions of Glyph, their friend, their leader, seemed impossible. Even when he had righteous anger, he never caused pain like that, and yet, he apparently did.

Diana was the first to recover, though her face still wore the expression of disbelief, "Where...where did he go after that?"

Macro shook his head sadly, "I don't know. Truly. He left for a week, a whole week. Gone. Some wondered if he would ever come back. He did. But when he did? He was like you see him now. Distant, closed off, and desperate to atone."

The group again went silent, all reacting in their own unique way. This time, Reyson was the first to recover, "One thing I don't get? It was a beatdown for sure, but the stories I heard? Were more...bloody. Like he beat him to a bulb instead of just schooling him like you said he did."

"We heard that the Headmaster had to be taken to the hospital for immediate surgery," noted Leilani sadly, "and that he was in a coma for many days."

Macro laughed bitterly, his face now incensed, "You can thank Primrose for that. Her dad is a media magnate, and has reach all over Remnant. She saw this as an opportunity to get back at Glyph for all the stuff he stopped her from doing at Signal. She was a bully back then too, only Glyph and I stood up to her. She saw a chance for payback, so she used her dads connections, and some elongated truths, to paint Glyph as a monster. It got real bad once he came back, some parents were even asking for him to be expelled, or even arrested, but Radian wouldn't let that happen."

"Why not?" asked Reyson, which caused the others to turn at him in shock, "I'm not being mean, I'm asking honestly! I only got away with my brutality because of my family connections, Glyph didn't have that."

"You're right, he didn't, but he had Radian. Radian knew that this was his fault as much as it was Glyph's. If he didn't have that conversation? It wouldn't have happened. He knew that, and it didn't hurt that Glyph begged for forgiveness the moment he returned. I hear he teleported right into his office and dropped to his knees in a sign of humility."

"Wow." remarked Diana with a shake of her head

"Yeah. Radian forgave him, but not a lot of others did. I'm not stretching the truth by saying I was his anchor for a while. I kept him going, got him through classes, through the looks that many gave him, etc. He still graduated top of the class. But it didn't matter to him, he knew his purpose lied elsewhere."

"But why continue school? Why come here?"

He thought about it, then shook his head, "Not sure. I didn't know he was coming until I met him on the airship. Best guess? Radian probably asked him to come. Or maybe, he felt this place had the answer."

"The answer?"

"To what Radian meant about him growing. Maybe he thought he could find it here. I'm certain that he's better here than he is out there."

"Why?" asked Yasmine

"Because he has us," he said with a smile and a look to them all, "now yeah, he's still not the Glyph that I knew from Signal. But he's more than the guy I knew in that last month from Signal. Much more. You should all be grateful for that. Anyway, I'm done talking. That's the whole story, the whole truth. Do with it what you will."

Macro rose, picked up his E-Tool, and left. Leaving the others to think about the story they had heard, and wonder what they should do with what they now knew.

As Macro entered the doorway to Signal, Glyph appeared behind him, "You told them?"

"Yeah."

"The whole truth? Nothing but?"

"I taught you that line too, remember?" teased Macro turning to Glyph

"I remember."

"And yes, I did. Are you mad?"

Glyph paused and looked away for a moment, then turned back, "No."

"Good, because I don't regret telling them."

"Good. Because I wouldn't have been able to tell it."

With a sad smile he vanished, Macro got his own sad smile and walked away as well. Later that night, Glyph stood at the window in GRYD's room and looked out the window. The door opened, and Diana walked in. She looked at Glyph for a while, then walked up beside him.

She waited for him to say something, but he didn't. So she turned to face him and looked right into his eyes. He eventually did the same for her. And to his surprise, she hugged him, in a most sincere way. After a few seconds she let him go and looked at him with kindness.

"Why did you do that?" he asked confused

"Because you needed it."

"And why did I need it?"

"Because you needed to know someone cares, even though they know the truth. Someone not named Macro."

She tried to hide a smile but failed, which caused Glyph to smile and shake his head in response. Content at what she did, Diana headed for the door.

Glyph meanwhile faced the window again, but paused and looked down, "Diana?"

She stopped and looked back at him, to which he looked to her and said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome, partner."

She eyed him playfully and have him a finger wave before departing. Glyph laughed and returned to the view outside of his window.

*credits*


	11. Chapter 10

**GRYD - Chapter - The Fun Of The Hunt**

In the amphitheater, the students of Beacon sat patiently in their seats. They had been called their by Headmaster Night, but no reason for it was given. Time continued to tick on as they waited for some answers. Finally, Squire appeared on stage. A pleased expression on his face.

He picked up a microphone and gave a small bow to the students, "I thank you for your patience. I assure you, it was worth it. Now, to explain why you are here, I give you Headmaster Night."

Night walked casually onto the stage and was handed the microphone, Squire stepped a few feet away but remained on stage. Night poised himself stage once he had the microphone, "Thank you Squire. Students, it's...well, it's a misconception of the schools that you are required to be working of the time. We here at Beacon have proved that a myth by letting you have fun when you're not in classes. Even letting you wander around Vale when times allow. Which I know you all enjoyed."

The students murmur happily at this, which made Night smile.

"Glad to see I was right. Yet, I can tell that the recent weeks have been hard on a lot of you. Tension between teammates, the Grimm attacks, even our special guest from the Herons seemed to...add to the stress levels. Well, I wish to remedy that in a very unique way."

At this, the students again murmured amongst themselves, but this time in curiosity. Squire stepped forward and held a hand up to quiet them down, shortly they did.

"Thank you again Squire," said Night with an appreciative nod, "as I was saying. The stress here is noticeable, and though stress is a natural part of our lives, it doesn't mean we can't do something fun to alleviate it. So, I have an activity planned right here at Beacon. We're going to do a scavenger hunt."

The students erupted at this in shock and surprise. Some though were honestly confused, and perplexed. The idea of a scavenger hunt seemed downright childish.

This reaction made Night laugh, "Peace! Please, let me explain. While it's true that a scavenger hunt does seem like something children do, we are all children of Beacon, and children of Remnant. Also though, Huntsman and Huntress sometimes do have to think outside the box in order to accomplish a goal. Solving clues is a good to do that. And a scavenger hunt is a fun way to give you those clues. Squire, please explain the rules."

Night took a step to his left and gave the microphone to Squire as he stepped forward, "While you were all in here, various items and clues were scattered throughout Beacon Academy, and the immediate grounds area. None were hidden in the Emerald Forest, so you have no need to go there."

An audible sigh of relief came from the students.

"Now, to ensure no cheating, or at least not rampant cheating, there are 5 different sets of clues. One of these five sets will be given to each team. And no one will know which team gets what. It will be random."

"What are the teams?" shouted one of the students from the crowd, others adding to it once it was asked

Squire quieted them down with a hand, "You'll be in teams of two. But before you try and pick it, it's already been chosen. Your immediate partners are your teammates. No substitutions or trading! We will know if you tried!"

Various reactions to this occurred. Some were happy, some groaned in disappointment, while others very visibly angry.

"Stay in your pairings as you exit the amphitheater. One of the attendants outside will give you your first clue. All first clues have been assigned no single team will be given the same clue to start. This is meant to be a test of you and your partner working together to solve clues. Make the most of that."

With a last piercing look around, Squire again handed the microphone to Night, "A good explanation. Now, I know some of you likely won't want to do this. So, we decided to...up the ante."

He snapped his fingers, and two attendants from off stage brought a chest right up to Night, and held it up so all could see. It resembled an old school treasure chest, which easily grabbed the attention of the students.

Night patted it happily, "This, is the reward to the first duo who completes the scavenger hunt. It's not money, or jewels, or anything like that. However, it is valuable in its own way, and will be valuable to anyone who wins. Whether you be male or female, human or Faunus. Though I will trust you to use it wisely if you get it. Sound fun now?"

He smirked at the students as they nodded vigorously at his question. He laughed softly and nodded, "Good. Ok, rise, then slowly go and get your envelopes. Once you a siren over the intercoms, the hunt is on. Do NOT start before that siren! We'll know if you did, and if you complete the challenge with that head start? Not only will not receive the reward, you'll get a...anti-reward. You've been warned. So, stand up students, and head out the doors. Once you have your first clue, scatter around the school if you don't mind. Less congested that way. Now, be smart, be fair, don't cheat, and have fun. This is a scavenger hunt after all. Dismissed."

Remaining on stage, Night motioned the student up and out. They obeyed his request and slowly rose from their seats and exited the amphitheater in their pairings. As they left, each pairing got an unmarked envelope that was sealed. They gazed at it carefully, but was smart enough not to open it. Else face the wrath of Headmaster Night.

Once they got their clues, they head out and around the school and grounds as they waited for the signal to be given. Ten tense minutes passed. Each pairing desperate to open their clues. Finally, the intercoms came on, and a siren sounded through it. With haste and anticipation, the teams ripped open their clues.

Glyph opened up his and Diana's clue and looked at it. Diana was bouncing with excitement as he read it, "What's it say partner?"

He handed it to her, "See for yourself."

She grabbed it and read it quickly, then got a confused look on her face, "It's important to know where you came from, to know where you are going. So why not sit down and reflect on the matter?"

Diana read it a few times, then looked to Glyph, who shook his head, "Don't look at me. I'm puzzled myself."

"Some clue! It's a riddle!"

"Night said we need to think outside the box."

"The box is there for a reason! Don't rock the boat! I bet the others aren't as stumped as we are. Bet Yasmine's already got hers figured out."

A little ways away, Yasmine reads her clue. Reyson meanwhile sat against a wall, a carefree expression on his face, and his eyes closed.

Yasmine examined the clue in great detail, "Hmm...'the truth is calming, and can cleanse your soul. Bask yourself in it to see the next step."

She racked her brains on what it said. Then turned to Reyson, "Any thoughts?"

"A few, but why are you asking me?" he retorted, not looking at her, "I thought you never wanted my opinion?"

"Usually I don't, but this is a hunt that we're supposed to be doing together. Right?"

"I guess."

"Are you seriously not interested? I thought you liked competitions like this."

Reyson opened his eyes and turned his head, "Technically? Yes. But there's no fighting, no chance of bloodshed. Yes, there's a prize, and knowing Night it's a good one. But...why should I care?"

Yasmine glared at Reyson, "Because I'm not afraid to hurt you if you don't help."

He laughed evilly and slowly rose, "Ok, follow me. I know where to go."

Elsewhere, Macro and Leilani were hunting high and low for the object of their first clue. As they entered a hallway, Macro scanned the corners that touched the ceiling, while Leilani merely looked back at their clue.

She gazed at it confused, "This isn't much to go on. 'I wish you grate success in finding your next clue."

Macro laughed, "How do you spell 'great', Leilani?"

"Uh, g-r-e-a-t."

"Yep, now look at the clue."

She looked at it again, and her eyes went wide as she saw what was different, "Wow, how did I not catch that?"

Macro continued to look up at where the ceiling met the walls in the hallway, "Don't feel bad, you were reading the intent you thought was right. The spelling didn't matter. It's one of those weird tricks of the mind. Your brain can read words in a sentence even if they're not spelled right, and it won't raise an alarm."

"Wow, that's...detailed."

"My dad was military, he trained me to look for even the smallest clues. That's why I saw that word and knew to look in the hallways for...ah-ha!"

He stopped and pointed up. Leilani came over and saw him point to a small grate near the ceiling that was slightly ajar. She was surprised at the find, "Wow."

Macro looked at her and shook his head, "You need more reaction phrases."

"Sorry."

"Don't be, think you can reach that without hitting your head?"

"Of course!"

She approached the wall, steadied her stance, then carefully jumped up. Leilani grabbed the grate, and held onto it as it lifted with her momentum. She planted herself against the wall and held the position until she was sure it was steady. Then, she carefully reached into the grate, and pulled out an envelope.

Once secured, Leilani carefully bounded back to the ground, then gave the envelope to Macro, "I think we're the first to this clue."

"Why do you say that?" Macro asked as he undid the envelope

"There were several clues still in there, and there are only 5 sets of clues, remember?"

"I do, and nice remembering. Alright, let's see where this clue takes us."

On the grounds, Aaron and Erin casually walk arm in arm and approach a tree. There's a medium sized hole in it. Erin approaches and puts her hand in it. After rummaging around a bit, she pulls out a clue.

"Got it!" she exclaimed

"Lovely. Just like you." boasted Aaron

"Oh, stop."

"I will not. Speaking of which..."

She looked at him intrigued, "Yes...?"

"Since, we're supposed to have some fun here, and enjoy ourselves. Why not don your other outfit? I know it's under there."

He smiled at her, and she did the same, then nodded. With haste, she unfastened her kimono, and revealed her pop princess outfit. Aaron laughed happily as it came to light.

Erin sighed in relief as she put her kimono over her shoulder, "I won't lie, I've been meaning to wear this for a while. The opportunity never seemed right. Thank you for saying this one was right."

Aaron looked at her joyfully, "As long as you are happy? It's always the right time."

"Oh..."

She wrapped her free arm around his and pulled closer to him. He put his head against hers for a few moments to honor the feeling. Then, Erin pulled away a bit and held up the clue, "Shall we?"

"We shall!" shouted Aaron proudly

The two continued to stroll through the grounds arm in arm.

Back with Glyph and Diana, the two were struggling to figure out their first clue. Diana paced back and forth in order to try and get it, but with each passing minute she got more and more frustrated.

"This is infuriating! How can we not solve the first clue!?" she shouted angrily

"Calm down, or you'll never get it." answered Glyph calmly

Diana turned to him and shot a glare at Glyph, "Well, partner, you're acting calm, and not getting it. So why not balance out the equation?"

"Stop whining. We'll get it."

"How?"

"By thinking about what the clue said."

She groaned with even greater anger, "What do you think I've been doing? It told us to sit down and reflect on something so that we could see where we're going! Why couldn't be easy? Like, "speak friend and enter" or something like that?"

Glyph's head snapped toward Diana, taking her aback by the sudden reaction. He then laughed and nodded, "I know where to go."

"Great!" exclaimed Diana, to which she wrapped her arm around his, which made Glyph glare at her, "What? Let's go!"

"I'm not walking with you like this."

"What? Oh! I'm not doing this to be cute, I thought you would teleport us!"

"That's cheating."

"No it's not! He never said we couldn't use our Semblances, he said we shouldn't follow others, read the clues early, or steal clues. Nothing about using Semblances.

Glyph looked away and thought about it, then jerked his arm away from her and walked away, "Still cheating to me."

Diana rolled her eyes and scoffed, "You are no fun."

"Not your kind of fun anyway."

"Don't I know it!"

She followed Glyph around to the front of the school. Glyph looked at the front doors carefully, then made his way inside, Diana in tow. As they entered the entranceway, Glyph smiled as he saw a giant mirror.

"There." he said pointing to the mirror, "Reflect, remember?"

"Oh, that's actually clever. So what now? Just look in the mirror?"

Glyph went up to the mirror and looked at it. He muttered the clue to himself, then looked closer at the reflection. His eyes with alight with realization, "Diana, close the door."

Without questioning, she went over and closed the door. When she did, words on the door showed up in the mirror, making Glyph smile, "There's our clue."

Diana rushed over to read it, "'History tells us how we lived, but only the present can tell us how we should live?' Can they get anymore cryptic?"

"I know this one, come on."

He rushed off, Diana hesitated for a second, smiled pleased, then raced after him. A few moments later, the front door opened again. This time, Elenor and Rita from Team PRME came in. Elenor got ecstatic when she saw the mirror.

"Oh, there's the mirror! I bet that's where the clue is!" she said happily

"If you say so," mumbled Rita unconvinced

The two made their way to the mirror. Elenor scanned every inch of it, while Rita paid more attention to her nails and hands.

Elenor noticed that Rita wasn't helped and sighed, "Look, I'm sorry you're not with Primrose or Maggie. Ok? I know you all are close. But I want to win this, and I know we can if you help me!"

Rita sighed angrily, but shook it off and focused on the mirror, "Ok, ok. What do we do?"

"The clue told us to sit down and reflect, but as to what I...oh!", she stated before turning around, "The door! I bet we have to close it. Please Rita?"

With a shrug, she went and shut the door, which let Elenor see the clue, getting very happy as she did.

"I was right! Look!"

Rita came back to the see the clue, and her expression changed to impressed, "Wow, nice...nice job Elenor."

"Alright, if I'm reading this right. I might know where the next clue is, come on!

Elenor smiled at Rita, then ran down the nearby hallway. Rita got a smile of her own, one that made her surprised, but she shook it off and followed her teammate.

Meanwhile, Reyson and Yasmine stood above a small pool of water that connected to the outer moats of the school. Yasmine impatiently tapped her foot, while Reyson just gazed at the water blankly.

Her impatience soon boiled over, "Well?"

"Well what?" he said without moving his head

"Where is the clue?"

"Can you really not guess? Aren't you the smart one?"

"Don't push it Reyson. Why are we here?"

"When you want to get clean of something, what do you use to cleanse yourself of impurities?"

Yasmine thought about it, then sighed, "Water."

Reyson giggled snarkily, "Yep. And here is a lot of water."

"There's water all over the school Reyson."

"True, but the clue said to "bask" ourselves, this is the deepest water in all the school grounds."

"So?

Reyson got closer to her, and looked at Yasmine with a blank face, "So..."

The two just looked at the other, then Reyson's evil smile returned, and with great speed he shoved her into the water. She splashed with great intensity, and floundered a bit before getting buoyant. As she righted herself in the water, she saw Reyson doubling over on the ground with laughter.

"Oh my gosh! So good!"

"I...hate you...so much right now." she said with spite

"I know, but it was totally worth it. And, you can't say I'm not helping. Clue is likely at the bottom of that pool, so...get going!"

He righted himself and motioned her to swim. She bared her teeth, but did so. Yasmine swam to the bottom, and saw there was an inscription on a tile on the bottom. She read it carefully, the resurfaced, "I got it."

"Glorious!"

Reyson remained rooted, and waited for her to get out of the water. When it became clear to Yasmine that he wouldn't help her get out, she swam out herself. Once back on solid ground, she went right back to Reyson and kicked him in the chest. Reyson happily took the hit, then started to laugh.

Yasmine walked away while he was in his laughing fit, but eventually got tired of it, "Will you come on!?"

Reyson sprang up to his feet and gave a fake salute, "Yes, ma'am.", after which he followed, but still had a fit of giggles.

A few hours passed, and the teams continued to try and decipher the clues left by Headmaster Night. While some clues were easy, some were very complex, and required a good deal of lateral thinking. Some excelled at this, while others didn't fare so well.

As the day waned on, only certain partners were making progress. One such team was Leilani and Macro, who were nearing the end of their own little hunt.

"Ok," said Leilani as she looked around on the grounds, "I'm guessing a bird nest is where the next clue is, right? Based on what the last one said?"

"That's my guess," said Macro, "the phrasing was cryptic, but I think we're right."

The two looked around at all the trees they could see, but none of them had bird nests. This puzzled them as they ran out of trees to look in.

"Huh, I really thought it would be here Leilani."

"So did I. Are we sure this is the limits of where we can look?'

"Yeah, no clues in the Emerald Forest, remember?"

"Oh yeah, well, I guess we can..." Leilani began to say, before she looked up at Beacon and stopped

Macro noticed this and came up to her, "What's wrong?"

She pointed to one of the supports of the school, "Do you see that?"

Macro looked at where she was pointing and squinted. Tucked away, almost out of sight, was a bird nest right on top of one of the pillars. Macro was amazed by this, "That's...wow."

"You need more reaction phrases." mocked Leilani with smile

"Touché. Alright, let's go get it."

The ran off to get their next clue.

As they did that, Glyph and Diana were forced to crawl beneath a part of the school in an abandoned cross base of sorts. Diana got appalled at what the dirty water was doing to her dress, "I don't know what's worse, my dress being ruined, or the sod I'm getting on my skin.

"Just wash the dress, and take a hot shower when we're done." Glyph said matter-of-factly

"Would you like to-"

"Don't. Even."

"No. Fun."

Elsewhere in Beacon, Yasmine and Reyson had collected another of the clues. This time though, they exited a classroom together, and Yasmine had a very odd look on her face. As if she couldn't tell what she was feeling.

"Reyson?" she asked as she stopped in the hallway

"Yeah?" he replied without emotion, or a look her way

"How are you so good at this?"

"Does it matter?"

"No. But I would like to know. You didn't care about this competition, yet you clearly can do this easily. You probably could've one on your own. So why don't you? And how is this so easy for you?

Reyson exhaled sharply, and looked at Yasmine with a dark gaze, "My family, both times."

"Oh dear." said Yasmine, realizing where this was going

"Yep. To be fair, it wasn't a bad thing. It was just an annoying thing. Our family lives in one house if you recall. All three branches of the Heron clan. I would hang out with my cousins a lot. One of them, Arianna, well...she kind of reminds me of you. Smart, logical. But unlike you, she liked to play games. So, she set up these scavenger hunts around the mansion to see if one of us could solve her puzzles. We all got pretty good at it. Me especially."

Yasmine didn't buy it, "But you see to hate it, so why?"

"Because my family corrupted it. For Arianna, it was just a game. But once my...bloodlust showed up more. They tried to use those games to "teach" me the right way to live. Soon, it wasn't a game, it was life lesson. Once I caught on, I stopped playing, which made Arianna mad, which made my aunts and uncles mad, and so on, and so forth."

He give a mock bow then walked away. Yasmine watched him for a bit, then walked quickly to catch up, "I'm sorry."

"You were curious, I don't blame you."

"No, I mean, about your family. That was wrong what they did."

"Yes, it was. But it's ok. Oh, and stop apologizing every time I tell you a life story of mine. We wouldn't want a bond to form, would we?"

Reyson smiled evilly and stuck out his tongue. To his surprise though, Yasmine joined in the gesture before laughing herself, "Trust me, you have no chance. Unlike Diana, I'm not interested in someone who is clearly my opposite."

With that, she proceeded ahead of him. Reyson gave his own small laugh, along with a nod of acknowledgment, "Good to know."

Hours continued on, and many teams got the final clue. The race was on to figure it out and get the prize. Diana and Glyph received it and read it eagerly.

Glyph cleared his throat, "The time has come to end this hunt. The prize is in sight. But before you can get it, you need to receive your judgment."

"Our judgment?" spoke Diana perplexed, "We didn't do anything wrong! How can we get punished for something we didn't do?"

Glyph slapped the envelope against his hand as he thought of what it might mean. Then, he got a thought, "What if it's a little more symbolic?"

"How so?"

"You get in trouble, here, in Beacon. Where do you go to get judgment?"

She smiled widely, "Headmasters Office!"

He nodded, "Let's go!"

Glyph raced away, Diana remained in her spot, a little disappointed, "You sure we can't teleport this time!"

"Stop whining and run!"

Put off, but still with a desire to win, she ran for the Headmasters Office with Glyph. The two wove through the school until they reached the door to Nights office. Glyph carefully knocked on it.

"Come in Glyph, Diana." spoke Night from within

The two entered, eyes fixed on Night as he appeared behind his desk. He smiled at them and waved them forward. They got closer, Diana was the first to speak, "Did...we win?"

"In a way. You did very well, both of you. I'm very impressed with your restraint Glyph. Though I didn't say you couldn't use your Semblance, I think it would've been cheating as well."

"Thank you Headmaster." said Glyph with a bow, then a teasing smirk to Diana

"However, as to the true answer to your question. You did not win. But 3rd place isn't bad."

"3rd place?" said Glyph and Diana together

Instead of speaking, Night merely motioned to his right, and to their surprise, The Lovers, along with Elenor and Rita were already in the office.

Night smiled at their reaction, "Yes, Aaron and Erin arrived about 30 minute ago, with Elenor and Rita only a few minutes behind. It was very impressive."

"Why thank you Headmaster." said Aaron with pride, to which Erin giggled

"You're welcome. Why don't you two join the others? I'm keeping the ones that complete the course here to prevent cheating, for at least a little while anyway."

"Sure," said Diana slightly downhearted that she lost

She proceeded to The Lovers and chatted with them. Glyph however went to Elenor and Rita. While Rita shot a nasty look at him, Elenor smiled at his arrival, "Nice job Glyph."

"Same to you and your partner. Let me guess, you did all the work?"

Rita opened her mouth to speak, but Elenor quickly overrode her, "I couldn't have done it without Rita. She actually helped me big time on that 4th clue. It was about a crossbase."

"Oh! We were on the same path then! I hated that one."

"It was nasty, wasn't it?"

The two laughed. While Rita looked at Elenor surprised, and a little touched. She was equally surprised when she saw Glyph smiling at her purely, "Thank you for helping Elenor. I know someone who likely wouldn't have done this with her under any circumstances."

Rita again tried to speak, but took a breath and nodded, then smiled herself, "Elenor's my partner. I help my partner."

Glyph nodded, "Good to hear. Keep it up. Both of you."

With a final smile he left them and joined Diana and the Lovers. Rita watched him curiously, then turned to see Elenor smiling at her. She returned the smile and talked with her partner.

Later that night, after most of the teams had completed, the scavenger hunt ended. GRYD and MEAL met up in the room of MEAL and talked about the hunt and all the things they had to do. After a while though, Reyson pointed to the treasure chest the Lovers had.

"Ok, enough small talk!" he barked out impatiently, "What's in it? Night wouldn't give away something small after all this. What is it you won?"

The others joined in on Reyson's curiosity and looked to the Lovers. Aaron turned to Erin for permission, and she gave him a nod. He carefully opened the chest, and pulled out two shining objects that made all of their jaws drop.

"Woah." said Diana

"Is that what I think it is?" asked Leilani

"Yep..." started Macro

In Aaron's hands were shining Dust capsules, unlike anything they had seen before. One was red, and one was green.

"...modified Dust bullets."

"According to the Headmaster," noted Erin as she gazed at them as well, "these were custom made by a specialist. They can't do it like this often, but when they do? The power of these shells dwarf anything that's regularly given out."

"Granted," added Aaron grimly, "we can only use it once. But given our luck? I have a feeling that 'one time' won't be too far off."

"Very wise." acknowledged Glyph, "And you're right. You'll probably use it soon. But not tonight. Let's just enjoy what happened today. Ok?"

He looked to them all, and they all nodded one by one, until they broke in conversation once more.

*credits*


	12. Chapter 11

GRYD - Chapter 11 - Team GRYD Vs. Team PRME

At night, withIn the Headmasters Office in Beacon Academy, Professors Vixi Tod, Lochen Target, and Barker Chestnut stood around the desk of Night, even though he wasn't in it. They patiently stood, and waited for something to happen. Soon enough, Night walked into the office in a hurry.

"Apologies for the wait," he said with a motion as he made his way to his desk and his chair, "I thank you all for coming."

"Nothing to apologize for Night," said Barker with a strong nod

"You're the Headmaster, you're busy." added Vixi

"And we professors are at your beck and call." mocked Lochen

"Be grateful I keep you around Lochen," rebutted Night with a ticked off expression, "if your skills and insight didn't outweigh your...interesting personality, I likely would've fired you by now."

"Promises, promises. Besides, it wouldn't have happened, Vixi would've stopped you."

Vixi laughed loudly at this, "Stopped him? I would've thrown you out myself."

"See? She's warming up to me, last time it was she would've kicked me out."

"The glory of progress." said Barker with a smile, before being shut down by a look from Vixi, "Sorry."

"Don't encourage his delusions." spat out Vixi

"You're the delusional one," said Lochen with a shrug, "it's clear you dig me. Why not just admit it?"

"How about you admit you're a smug son of a-"

"Enough!" overrode Night, standing up, and making them all go silent, to which he sat back down, "Usually I find serenity in you three bickering amongst yourselves, but not tonight. Tonight I need your advice on something important."

"What is your need? asked Barker, folding his arms in curiosity

"As you know, like I always do, I'm slowly working in more and more missions for the students. The newest class has performed rather well in their endeavors, wouldn't you agree?"

"They're not dead if that's what you mean." noted Lochen bluntly

"Not exactly the response I had in mind...but accurate."

Vixi looked at him worried, "What's wrong Night?"

"Wrong? A lot. A lot of mysteries and questions have been arising for some time now, and as if part of a tradition, our school is wrapped up in it. But that's for another time. Tonight, I need you to weigh in on some of the new teams."

"In what fashion?" asked Lochen, now curious himself

Instead of answering right away, Night rose, and then went to the window, and gazed out at the grounds of his Academy, "I'm going to assign a forward mission to the new teams. Ones that I believe they can handle given their current skill level. However, there is one job that requires two teams, and I only want the best of the new class to take on that mission together. So...who are best teams of the new class?"

"MEAL is easily on top," stated Vixi proudly, "Macro is a near perfect leader, and the others follow him without hesitation or complaint. They did well in the forest mission, as well as the rebuilding one. Not to mention they have taken on those odd Grimm and come out on top."

"Macro is a testament to inner and outer fortitude, as well as being able to dissect a situation in the way it needs to be." added Chester

"Oh, and the rest of the team ain't bad either." teased Lochen, "Leilani and Erin specifically have grown a bit in battle since arriving. "

"Very observant." said Vixi reluctantly

"It's one of my many traits. For example, that's a new outfit on you Vixi."

"I don't know whether I should be impressed or horrified."

"Probably both. Heh. But in all seriously, MEAL has my vote too for one of the teams on this "special mission".

"Agreed." acknowledged Chester

Night turned to look at them all, then nodded before gazing back out at the grounds, "Very well, MEAL is in. But who should join them?"

"What about PRME?"

At this, both Vixi and Lochen reacted violently, both with looks of outrage.

"PRME? Are you kidding me?" shot Lochen, "Three of those girls are menaces to society with their "holier than thou" attitudes."

"And don't get me started on their treatment of Elenor, that girl is repeated berated by them." added Vixi

"Yeah, the time she teamed up with Primrose? Primrose stated that she "better not ruin her moment", then when they faced off? She HATED the idea that she lost to Elenor."

"I heard they ignored her for days before talking to her again."

Lochen smirked at Vixi, "I love it that we agree on this."

"I prefer you angry right now," Vixi stated with a wave towards Chester, "focus."

With a shrug, he turned back around. Chester meanwhile just shook his head in disappoint at the two, "While I can agree that their unity is in question, it's only in regards to Ms. Rigby. The three of them though together are quite a unit, I've seen it myself. We talk about how the others in MEAL follow Macro without question, it's the same here with Ms. Madonna."

"You ever notice how you say the first names of the dudes, but not the ones of the dudettes?" remarked Lochen

"It's how I was raised."

"That makes sense I guess."

"Please focus." interjected Night, who again looked at them, but this time more specifically Lochen and Vixi, "If you two don't think PRME is worthy, then who is?"

"GRYD." Vixi said simply

Lochen laughed wryly and walked towards a nearby wall, "Oh boy."

"What?"

"GRYD? Seriously?"

"They're a competent team."

"When timing allows it." noted Chester

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Do we really have to spell it out?" asked Lochen with a look of disbelief, "You got a berserker who is a bloodthirsty lunatic. Who's partner is a brilliant tactician who fought her team leader in a battle the first chance she got. Then on the other side, you have an entertainer who believes that the beauty of her moves matter as much as her striking ability, and then you have Glyph!"

Night waited for Lochen to note Glyph's issues, but he didn't, so he turned to him, "What's your concern with Glyph?"

"That he's going to kill us if he snaps...again."

"He's not the same as he was then."

Lochen stepped closer to Night, "That's what worries me. Yeah, he says all the right things, he defends everyone he can. I dig him a bunch for what he does to PRME when they step out of line. But..."

"But?" wondered Vixi

"He's too quiet, too withdrawn. I don't know what you were thinking making him leader. Maybe you thought he could redeem himself somehow, but that kid is a time bomb. I saw it when Primrose insulted Yasmine because she was a Faunus. He took her and Elenor out in the blink of an eye, just because of an insult. I don't care that it was a battle and he was supposed to do that. It was scary."

"I heard you laughed it off when it happened." revealed Chester

"I did. It was funny at the time. GKO. But when I saw him fight Yasmine? Fight the Grimm outside the school? The blank face he has when he fights? That worries me."

"That's legitimate I guess," said Vixi with a shake of her head, "but, we're talking about best teams, and they do follow Glyph. Even Reyson respects him."

"Because he likes that Glyph's as strong as him. Game respects game."

"It doesn't matter. As a team, their squabbles aside, they work. They were the ones who fought that...mutated Goliath along with MEAL. It was Glyph who risked everything to save Leilani and Yasmine from those attackers. Diana has fought off Grimm all on her own, and Yasmine is one of the most brilliant girls I've ever seen."

"But unlike PRME," stepped in Chester, "They're not all in unity. Not even three of them. Diana follows Glyph out of love, or some facsimile of it..."

"That sounds familiar," Vixi said with a scoff

"You'll love me eventually," teased Lochen

Chester cleared his throat so they would go quiet, "Reyson may respect Glyph, but he'll go off on his own when the bloodlust grabs him. Only Yasmine will follow Glyph without question, and that was because of the respect she gained for him after their fight. Which while I respect, is not something I recommend for long-term trust building. Even if we talk partners relationships. Glyph tolerates Diana, while Yasmine and Reyson simply do not get along."

"That sounds familiar." repeated Night, which made the rest go quiet

Night looked out at the grounds, just gazing upon the stillness of the night, pondering what may come, and what will come. The others looked to each other in concern, but didn't speak out of respect.

Eventually, Night returned to his desk and sat down, "Chester, your vote is for PRME?"

Chester nodded, "Yes."

"Vixi? You maintain that GRYD is the best option to accompany MEAL?"

"Yes, if for no other reason than they're already great friends with MEAL. PRME and MEAL wouldn't be a good fit for a mission of great importance."

Night strummed his desk as he thought of this, "Lochen? Where do you vote?"

Lochen smiled and put up his hands in a sign of not getting involved, "I don't. MEAL is the only team I think is good for anything serious. PRME and GRYD? Yeah, they're the next best option, by far even, but I can't pick between what I think are two bad options."

"Then, to not show favoritism, and to let the unity and leadership of the teams shine through, I suggest a special match. Team GRYD vs. Team PRME."

The professors each reacted in their own way. Vixi was taken aback, Chester was baffled, while Lochen cackled madly, "I love it!"

"Is fighting really the best way to settle this?" asked Vixi

Chester moved towards Night and got his attention, "I'm with Vixi, this would be unfair. Glyph can take down any opponent on his own. A team would pose no threat even without the rest of GRYD"

Lochen whistled so that the others would look at him, "If this was last year, then yes. But Glyph doesn't use his Semblance unless absolutely necessary. If we give him the proper...nudge, he'll make sure he doesn't do it."

"What nudge?" queried Night intrigued

"This is about seeing which TEAM is best, right? See who can follow orders? Be the best they can be for each other when the pressure is on? Right?"

"Right."

With a smile, Lochen leaned onto Night's desk, "So we tell them what's at stake. You come in just before combat practice ends and say that there will be a match between GRYD and PRME to see who is ready for a "special mission". You note that the winner will not just be the victors of the match, but the one that works best as a team. You do that? Glyph won't use his Semblance, he'll know it'll hurt his teams' chances. And as much as he's a time bomb, while he's dormant, he'll never hurt his team if he can help it."

"Thoughts?" posed Night to the other two

Vixi shrugged, "I still don't like, but it does seem the best option under the circumstances."

"If Glyph restricts himself, and we do make it about the team cohesion and not just who wins...it could work." acknowledged Chester

Lochen laughed and motioned to the others to show how they agreed with him. Night laughed himself, then nodded, "Then it's settled. I'll make the announcement tomorrow. Thank you for your input, you're dismissed."

One by one they all left, with Lochen leaving last, but stopping just before getting fully out the door, and turning to Night, "What's the mission Night? That you're sending the "lucky teams" on?"

"A very important one Lochen. Good night." he said before turning away

Lochen held his gaze, but then left, and shut the door behind him. Once he was sure the others were gone, Night reached into his desk and pulled out a file. On it, was the symbol of the Heralds of Purity. He glared at the symbol intensely.

The next day, combat practice took place. Numerous matches were had, and by the end, even Lochen was pleased with the results. He clapped for them in appreciation as he addressed the students, "Well done you lot. Really good matches today. Now, before you think I'm letting you off early...I'm not. We have a special guest who wants to talk to you."

He motioned to the entranceway, and Night entered the amphitheater and stood by Lochen's side, "Good afternoon students."

"Good afternoon Headmaster." they echoed back

"Next week, you and your teams will be partaking in another mission. But unlike previous ones, this one will be a full-on Huntsman/Huntress mission. One that you will have to do...unsupervised."

The students reacted to this by chatting with their teams, Night held up a hand to silence them, and they eventually did so.

"Thank you. Now, all of these missions are well within your skill levels. However, there is one mission that will require a certain caliber of team. Even then, they're not going alone, as two teams will be assigned to this. After consulting with your professors, the first selected team is Team MEAL."

He motioned to them, and a scattered applause filled the theater as others showed appreciation to them. Night smiled at this, "Yes, they are to be commended. All the professors recommended you. Now, as for who you are to go on this mission with. That wasn't so clear. Two teams were singled out as potential candidates. Since this will be a very dangerous mission, it seemed only fair that these two teams battle it out to see who goes on it."

The students went quiet as they waited to see who would battle for the right to do the mission, Lochen laughed at the silence that filled the room, "Awkward silence."

"The two teams selected for this...competition, are Team PRME and Team GRYD."

Another mixed reaction hit the students, some in surprise, some in disappointment, Night stymied this before it got out of hand, "Do not be mad that you didn't get selected. Instead, take this as an opportunity to try and improve. Only through growth can you be trusted to do such missions and not die during them. Now, Team PRME, Team GRYD, this battle will not just be a match to see who is left standing. No, it's one that's meant to show you can work as a team in order to get a goal done. This is not about a singular effort by a strong warrior, or a tactician. It's about showing you can work side-by-side with your team, and overcome anything put in front of you. Only the team that shows that will be declared worthy for the mission. Regardless of who's standing at the end. Am I understood?"

He looked directly at the teams, who nodded in acknowledgement of what he was asking. He turned to Lochen, who nodded that he had done it the right way.

With a sigh of relief, he looked at the teams again, "Good. Your match will take place in two days. Use this time, between classes of course, to work together and build a good strategy, as well as a team dynamic. I will be watching this match. So be ready."

After a nod to Lochen, Night left the room, and soon after, everyone else did.

A while later, in the room of Team GRYD, Glyph, Reyson, Yasmine, and Diana were joined by Team MEAL, as they discussed what had been revealed to them by Night.

"You HAVE to win that fight." exclaimed Macro in a way that surprised the others, "What? I can get emotional when I need to."

"He's right," added Leilani, "I can't stand PRME, especially after what they did to me. We can't be on a mission with them."

"The only good one of the bunch is Elenor," Erin said with a sad smile, "and one good egg doesn't save a bunch of rotting ones. What were the professors thinking selecting them?

Aaron made a noise in his throat to get their attention, "Despite our hatred of PRME, or most of PRME, it's hard to deny that Primrose, Maggie, and Rita do get along with each other very well. As a trio, they are strong. Just like they were at Signal. No doubt one of the professors noticed that."

Yasmine nodded at the logic, "Agreed, they're pains in the put, but they're not to be underestimated."

"Bah!" spat out Reyson, drawing Yasmine's ire, "I don't need to underestimate them. Between me and Glyph we can take them all out. Oh, and you two can help if you want."

"In one sentence, you just proved you heard nothing of what Night said outside of us battling PRME."

"Your point?"

Diana snapped her fingers in front of Reyson to get his gaze, "The point Reyson, is that Night wants us to work as a team, not individuals. If we go rogue, we're not on the missions. Which means no "special battles" for you!

This seemed to sober up Reyson, who adopted a more calm and attentive pose, "Ok, you have my attention. Fearless leader? What say you?"

Glyph looked at his escrima, which he held in his hands, then looked up at the others, "We need to train. Together. United. Macro?"

"Yeah?" he replied

"Will you help? 4v4 is the only way to prepare for this."

"No problem, anything to get you all with us."

"Good, let's go."

On the other side of the school, Primrose marched in front of Maggie, Rita, and Elenor. Her expression was fierce, yet focused, "Alright, here's the deal. We NEED to win this. Not just for the glory, and the mission personally handed to us by Night, but also to finally stick it to Glyph and his...friends."

Maggie and Rita snickered at this, Elenor however looked away sadly.

Primrose continued to march back and forth between them all, "We must be ready, to prepare for all contingencies. As it so happens, I don't think Glyph will use his Semblance because of the focus on teams rather than individuals."

"Makes sense." said Maggie with a nod

Rita nodded too, "He only uses it nowadays because of necessity, not desire. If he takes us all down alone? We win."

"True." said Primrose, stopping to ponder scenarios, "And while usually I'd be up for a trick to make Glyph try and...GKO us...I'd rather we win it ourselves. I want to beat him, badly. So no screw ups! Am I understood?"

At the end of the question she glared towards to Elenor, who again looked away. When she saw this, she marched up to her and got in her face, "I said, understood."

To her surprise, before Elenor could respond, Rita pushed her back. This got a reaction from the other three, but Rita stood firm, "Hey! Enough. Elenor hasn't done anything, and she's not a weak link. Or did you forget she beat you in combat practice?"

Elenor gaped at Rita's defense of her, while Primrose began to fume, "That was luck."

"That was skill Primrose. Elenor is good in a fight, and she's smart. And just as its true that Glyph can't win the battle for his team, we also can't win if we don't show we can work with Elenor. Right?"

The two glare at the other, but Primrose relents begrudgingly, "You're...right. You're right. I'm...sorry Elenor."

"It's ok." Elenor replied meekly

"Whatever, moving on. Let's talk strategy!"

As she again marched between them, Elenor looked at Rita and mouthed "Thank you". To which Rita smiled smally and looked away so she could hear Primrose's plan for battle.

In the clearing in front of the school, GRYD and MEAL had a practice bout. What quickly became apparent though, was that while MEAL was functioning like a team, GRYD's teamwork was very sporadic. At times it would happen, but other times the members of GRYD would function on their own, without consideration for the others.

The only one who didn't do this was Glyph, who constantly tried to work together with the others, but with only short term success. Sure enough, with Macro guiding them, MEAL started to beat GRYD by taking out most of them, only Glyph remained standing by the end of the battle. And he dropped his escrima in a sign of surrender.

"Enough. We lose." he said bluntly, his face mired with disappoint

"Fair enough." said Macro, sharing his look, "Let's help them up guys."

One by one the others got back up, each with their own looks of disappointment. While the others chatted and recovered, Glyph pulled Macro to the side to talk.

"What do I do?" he asked

"What you always do Glyph, be blunt."

"Seriously?"

Macro laughed at the irony he say, "My father has a saying. Brothers may be forged in battle. But sometimes to get the point across? You got to smack them on the head."

"There's enough fighting on my team already." Glyph remarked blunty

"Yeah...that's true. But still try. Not hurting them, but speaking bluntly with them It's worked before, right?"

"I thought so. Not sure now."

Glyph looked at his team, confusion on how to "fix" them heavy on his mind. Macro watched as his friend beat himself up, but then became alight with an idea, "There may be another way."

He turned to Macro, "I'm listening."

"My father had another saying, nothing says I'll protect you like taking a bullet."

"You want me to get shot?"

"No...maybe, I don't know. Look, to them? You're untouchable in a lot of ways. Show them you're willing to take one for them, they might react to that."

"...ok. I'll see what I can do. Mind taking your team out? I want to talk to mine alone."

"Sure thing."

Macro headed over and gathered Leilani and the Lovers, then departed. Now alone, Yasmine, Diana, and Reyson almost immediately began to bicker.

"We need to work together more." said Yasmine

Reyson scoffed, "Let me guess, listen to your plans?"

"It'd be a start, for sure."

"And what happens if you get taken out?" shot back Diana

"Then rely on one another while I recover!"

"Like you rely on us? I didn't see you asking us what to do?

"That's not-"

"Your role?" interjected Reyson angrily, "Right, because you're right all the time, right? Yasmine! Strategist Supreme!"

Yasmine glared viciously at Reyson, "At least I try and do something strategic while you rush into any battle just swinging like an idiot! Oh, I'm sorry, "barbarian." Just so you know, there's not much a difference! Oh wait, there is, barbarians are smarter than you!"

"You wanna go you little-"

"ENOUGH!" roared Glyph

The others looked at him in surprise. Rarely did Glyph get this anger as to raised his voice like that. More than that, his expression was livid, ripe with rage.

"Is this who we truly are? Hmm?" he asked agitated

"Glyph..." started Diana, but a motion from him shut her down

"Don't. Look at us. How is it, that after all we've been through, we still act like this? After the Goliath, the in-fighting, the Boarbatusk's, the Heralds, after risking our lives for one another, we still do this? Still argue like this?"

"Is it really-?" Reyson scoffed but Glyph silenced him by getting right up in his face

"SHUT UP REYSON!"

The two stared down, Yasmine and Diana got very worried at this, as the two looked to be coming close to blows.

"You and your bloodlust. I get it. I really do, but that doesn't excuse what you do. Do you want to die? Is that it? Is that why you rush in like you do? Hmm? And when you don't get it, is that why you argue with me? Diana? And Yasmine? Is that why you hate her? Because she's so calm, collected? The opposite of you? Does that offend you to the extent you have to barb her all the time."

Reyson didn't respond, but merely looked away angrily. Glyph went to Yasmine next, who was surprised he looked at her like he did Reyson.

"Surprised you're next?"

"A little. I listen to you."

"You do, and I'm grateful. You don't listen to them though." he said with a point to Reyson and Diana, "At first? I didn't get it. Reyson makes you angry, sure. But Diana? Wasn't sure on that. Then I saw it, repeatedly. You don't like dealing with people you think are under you, dumber than you, so you push back. You know now I'm not like that, so you don't challenge me. But them? Not so much. No one is beneath anyone. Doesn't matter about strength or intelligence or skill. Doing that? Makes you no better than Primrose."

Yasmine got nearly incensed by this remark, and also looked away. Which made him go straight to Diana, who actually looked at him with a smile, "Can't wait to hear this."

"You mystify me, you know that?"

"I try."

"No jokes Diana."

"Who's joking?"

"Hmph. You hugged me the other day, said to me, you wanted me to know that someone else cares. Someone who didn't mind my past. That meant a lot. But if you really cared about me? You'd be working just as hard to keep this team together, as you are trying to get with me."

Reyson snickered at this, but was again shot down by a look from Glyph.

"You are great Diana, when you care, I do like that about you. But the rest of the time? When you don't care? That's what angers me, and the others. Know when to care, even if it doesn't matter to you. That's what being a friend, being a partner, is all about."

She lowered her head to avoid his gaze. Now done, Glyph stepped away from them, then took out his escrima and held them out.

"I know I probably just drove us further apart. But honestly? It's better this is all out in the open. We should be so tight right now, but we're not. This is my fault too. I'm failing you as a leader, and as a friend, and I'm sorry. I am. But we can't keep doing this. Falling into old routines and habits when things don't go our way. Macro's right, we need to be the team that goes with them on that mission. For their sake, as well as ours. I'm fighting in that match, and I'll try and be the leader you need me to be. If you're game, and really want to try and fight as one like before? Bring these to me before the match."

He let go of his escrima and teleported away. Leaving the others to look at the ground where his weapons now laid.

The next day passed, and no one saw Glyph. He wasn't in their room, or in their classes. When their professors asked where he was, they couldn't respond. Lochen especially seemed put off by this, but didn't push the issue. Not even Macro knew where he was.

"If I knew, I'd tell you. But I will say this, take the hint." he noted to them when they asked him about Glyph

Despite this warning, the others didn't practice for the match, they could barely look at one another at times. Yet, as the match with PRME got closer, they started to realize the truth, and talked for the first time since Glyph's blow up.

A new day soon arrived, and talk around the school was all about Team GRYD vs. TEAM PRME, with most of it focused around what the mission was that they were going on, as well as where Glyph was. When combat practice arrived, all the students sat in the seats on the upper deck. Lochen stood in front of the stage.

He opened his arms widely and smiled, "Today. Is a very special day. It's Beacon Academy combat at its finest. Two teams, fighting to prove they're worthy of a great task. It's going to be fun. So, GRYD, PRME, please come down here."

PRME was the first to rise and depart. Reyson, Yasmine, and Diana looked nervously to one another before rising up. Lochen frowned when he saw only three of them rising, "Wait, where is...?"

A small noise behind him was heard, and the crowd gasped, which made Lochen smile. He turned around to see Glyph standing in the middle of one side of the battle stage.

"Ah, there you are. Was wondering where you went to Glyph. Ok, now we can do this. Get down here you three!"

With haste, the others reached the lower levels. Glyph didn't look at them as they entered though, rather, he just stared off into the space that was now filled with Team PRME. Diana was the first to reach him. She held out her hand, in it was one of his escrima.

"I think you dropped this." she said simply

He looked at her, then took it. Yasmine came up next, and handed him the other one and nodded to him in acknowledgement of what he had said the previous day. Reyson brought up the rear and scoffed at him, "You did realize that there were three of us, and only two of your weapons, right?"

Glyph looked at him displeased, but then cracked a smile, "Yeah, about 30 seconds after I teleported away."

They all shared a laugh, Reyson nodded in appreciation of the honestly, "Acceptance is the first step, right?"

"Right. And my point got made, right?"

"Right."

"Right." added Yasmine

"Right," replied Diana, who then leaned in closer, "partner."

Glyph laughed again, "Couldn't help yourself, huh?

"Can't change overnight."

With another nod to the team, they stood next to each other and showed Lochen they were ready to fight. He seemed please that they talked just before the battle, and made sure they were done before addressing them all.

"Ok, remember, this is about teamwork, not just about winning. Show us what you can do as a team. Same rules apply though, when you get enough damage, you are out. Last team standing is the victor of the bout. Don't get confused on the goal, ok? Start when the buzzer sounds."

The lights dimmed as Lochen stepped away. Both sides readied their weapons. Glyph's escrima, Reyson kopeshes, Yasmine's lance, Diana's Whip on one side. On the other, Primrose's poleax, Rita's tomohawks. Maggie's two-pronged rapier, and Elenor's tonfa. Both sides waited eagerly for the buzzer to sound.

Soon it did, and Primrose pointed her ax at them, "Charge!"

Glyph was just as quick though, "Yasmine! Matchups!"

Yasmine's eyes flashed quickly, "Diana, take Maggie. Reyson, Primrose, Glyph, you got Rita, I'll take Elenor."

"You heard her, go!"

Just as PRME reached them, they dodged out of their initial attacks, then matched up with their assigned targets and did battle.

Reyson battled Primrose, his swords allowing him to not only block her poleaxe, but also parry and land blows of his own. He laughed at every strike he landed on her, "Come on! I heard you were good! Oh wait, that's only the hallways when you bully people, right?"

"Why you little..."

She jumped back, then built up momentum in her poleax and slammed it into the ground, sending a wave of energy at him. He smirked as he dodged it, then stuck out his tongue, which made her do it again, and again. Reyson dodged every time and got in close, allowing him to attach again.

With Diana and Maggie, the former used her whip to keep the other at a distance. For as Maggie's weapon was short range, and Diana's whip had reach, she could keep her away without ruining her motions.

Every passing second she wasn't doing anything frustrated Maggie, "Stop dancing and fight you wannabe dancer!"

This made Diana stop in place, "Wannabe? Who do you think you're talking to? Allow me to show you the elegance of dance!"

With a click of her whip handle, all of the gun ports on the weapon opened up, and with a flurry of motion, Diana unleashed a barrage of dust bolts at Maggie, which forced to dodge. After letting up to catch her breath, even Maggie seemed impressed, "Nice shots, my turn."

Maggie held her sword upright, and between the prongs of her sword, and energy glowed. She smiled as she extended the sword towards Diana, unleashing a bolt of Dust at her. While Diana dodged in time, she was very surprised by the turn of events.

Maggie picked up on this and gloated, "What's wrong? Didn't know I could that?"

"Actually, no." admitted Diana getting back to her feet, "But now I do, so let's go!"

Nearby, Glyph and Rita did battle. Glyph's escrima were a perfect match for Rita's tomahawks, the two clashed intensely as they tried to get the upperhand on the other. Glyph however was a better fighter, and consistently got an upperhand on Rita. To counter this, Rita used her Semblance to multiply her weapons, and used the excess ones to try and upend Glyph's battle style. But Glyph was unaffected, and either dodged, blocked, or even caught the tomahawks and returned them to sender.

When one of her own weapons hurt her, Rita let out a primal scream and glared at him, "Why won't you just take a hit?"

"Old habit." said Glyph with a shrug

Finally, Yasmine took on Elenor. Despite Yasmine's Semblance, Elenor was doing her best to hold her own. To change things up, Yasmine only used one of her drones, while having one lance in her hands. This allowed her to challenge Elenor on two levels of play. This strategy began to overwhelm Elenor, and each strike made her more and more desperate.

"I could use some help!" she cried out

Rita heard this, and getting a break from Glyph during a strike, made a copy of her tomahawk and threw it at Yasmine full force. Glyph saw this, and on instinct teleported right in front of Yasmine, taking the hit from the tomahawk in the shoulder.

"Glyph!" shouted Yasmine concerned as he fell to one knee in pain

Elenor saw the opportunity and used the gun end of her tonfa to send Yasmine flying backwards. As Glyph stood up, he saw Rita rushing in to assist Elenor in taking him on.

Reyson took his eye off of Primrose when he saw Yasmine get hurt, which allowed her to land a cheap shot, stunning him. But instead of finishing him off, she turned and saw Diana had her back to her. Smiling at the opportunity, she slammed her ax into the ground, and sent an energy wave towards Diana.

"Behind you Diana!" Reyson yelled just in time, for Diana saw the attack and jumped out of the way, Reyson got back to his feet and glared at Primrose, "You like cheap shots huh?"

He rushed Primrose, Aura Charge building up as he did. He slammed into her, but actually used the Charge to hold onto her, and with some guidance, aimed it towards Elenor, Rita, and then Maggie. Only releasing it when all four where in the Aura's clutch. After he released the, he met up with the others from GRYD.

Yasmine handed him his swords, "Drop something?"

"Had to lighten the load, needed to help you after all." he replied with a smirk

"Thank you."

"Bond later," teased Diana, readying herself for round two, "they're getting back up."

Sure enough, all of PRME rose back up, Primrose and Maggie looking especially ticked, while Rita and Elenor were just glaring at them intensely.

"Your move." challenged Glyph, readying himself for action along with the rest

Answering the call, the others charged. GRYD readied themselves for battle.

"Partner up! 2v2!"

Glyph and Diana took on Primrose, while Reyson and Yasmine took on Rita and Elenor. The difference this time though was night and day. For whatever reason, GRYD's partner teams clicked, while only Rita and Elenor were semi-functional on the other side.

For Glyph and Diana, they worked the attacks within the style set of the other. Glyph actually wove in and out of Diana's dance moves so that neither Primrose or Maggie could get them. Meanwhile, Reyson actually listened to Yasmine as she shouted out where he should attack. He even took a hit when Rita tried to take out Yasmine's drone.

With their teams now in sync, the pushed PRME back towards one another. While Diana and Yasmine made sure they didn't get away from where they wanted, Reyson and Glyph readied their guns, and standing shoulder to shoulder, released their charged blasts.

"Bang." Reyson said with a smirk

"Bang." added Glyph with a smirk of his own

The twos combined charge hit PRME broadside, and sent them all flying. The moment they hit the ground, the buzzer sounded, and the match was over. Team GRYD smiled as they heard the sound of their victory, and began to rejoice with one another when the sound of loud clapping filled the air.

They turned to see Lochen was the one clapping, a sincere smile on his face, "Well done, all of you. Team GRYD, you are the victor of the match, but as for who did better as a team...well...that's for him to decide."

He motioned behind him, and they all looked to see Night approaching, his face blank. But once he got close enough, he looked at both sides equally, "Well done, we were right to choose you. However, a choice is clear. Team PRME, while you did well to start, even saving your teammate from a certain defeat, when the pressure came on, you crumpled. Whereas you GRYD, rose to the challenge. You took hits for one another, worked in conjunction with one another, and as a team, defeated your opponents. Well done. You will join MEAL on the mission next week. Get some rest, you'll need it for what's coming."

With a small bow to them all, he turned and left. Lochen gave GRYD a thumbs-up and followed. PRME got up and left, Primrose visibly furious while the others sulked at the loss. GRYD meanwhile just smiled at their victory and laughed with one another.

"That was nice," noted Reyson, "a true team effort. And that finishing move Glyph? Epic."

"I'm still shocked you listened to me in battle." revealed Yasmine with a smirk similar to what Reyson usually does

"It felt right."

"Speaking of feeling right..." stated Diana with a curious look to Glyph, "how did battling with me feel, partner?"

"Elegant."

She smiled pleased and winked at him, "Though so."

"Don't push it Diana." Glyph replied with a roll of his eyes, "But honestly, great job, all of you. We earned that victory."

Reyson shrugged, "Maybe, but if you didn't push us, it wouldn't have happened. We're sorry for how we are."

"Don't be sorry, just try and be better."

Yasmine nodded, "We will be. This time, we'll keep the promise.

Diana laughed, "Yeah, and with you guiding us, we'll stay this way. We'll be a true team. You'll see."

This time Glyph time, "Sorry about the bluntness but, it's about time."

They all shared in a laugh that filled up the amphitheater.

*credits*


	13. Chapter 12

**GRYD Chapter 12: The Mission**

"What aren't you telling us?" asked Glyph

He turned to Headmaster Night, who gazed at him from his desk. The members of GRYD and MEAL were next to him, all looking at the Headmaster.

Night maintained his silent gaze for a while before replying, "Why do you think I'm hiding something from you?"

"Because that whole "battle to see who gets the mission" thing was bull." barked Reyson as he glared at Night with intensity

This actually made Night smile, "I didn't think you cared about why you fight?"

"I don't, but I can tell when I'm being manipulated."

"Fair enough, but I assure you, this was not a manipulation, it was an honest competition."

"Sorry sir, but that doesn't make sense," interjected Macro, "my team has a bad history with PRME, while we've saved lives with GRYD. Why was PRME even considered for a mission of "such importance", if you knew there was even a small chance we couldn't work well together? Thus endangering the mission?"

"Because I don't play favorites!" roared Night, rising from his chair and glaring at the lot with a look that matched Reysons. Night caught this though, and quickly calmed down, turning to the window to gaze at the outside of Beacon, watching as the early morning sun beamed down upon the grounds, "Yes, I wanted MEAL and GRYD for this mission. But, I refer to my council, your professors, for advice on matters of such importance. While they all agreed that MEAL should be on the mission, they were unsure of GRYD. As I'm sure you four can understand."

Reyson smiled evilly, Diana laughed nervously, Yasmine nodded, but Glyph just kept his gaze on Night.

"That's what I thought. Regardless of the how, you won, and I believe you're better because of it. But now, more important things need your attention."

"What aren't you telling us?" asked Glyph again

Night again looked at Glyph, but this time with sympathy, he sighed as he returned to his desk, "I know about the return of the Heralds of Purity."

This got a big reaction from MEAL and GRYD, even Glyph and Yasmine reacted hugely to this. Macro stepped forward again, "How?"

"Need I say it? Your father. He reports to a lot of people, me included. He was the one who tipped me off that they might be back. But then when I looked at the footage of you all in Vale? Seeing that mark on the wall? I knew they had truly returned."

"What does this have to do with the mission?" asked Yasmine

"Are we...going after them?" wondered Leilani noticeably nervous

"Not exactly." answered Night with a calming smile to her

"Then what is it?" demanded Diana

"When the Heralds of Purity were..."disbanded"...and tried for their crimes against Faunus kind. Only a few were every caught. No more than a dozen, when there were hundreds, or thousands of them."

"Because they hid their faces..." Aaron noted with a grim nod

"Anonymity is a powerful thing." acknowledged Erin

Night nodded at this, "Precisely. But what made this so dangerous after the war, was that there were members of the Heralds of Purity everywhere. From the common folk...to people in power...people with influence. Over the decades, though power has changed hands, these leaders would've likely influenced certain appointments. Hmph, they might have even used their position to recruit members to keep the Heralds alive. It's hard to say."

"But what does this have to do with the mission?" asked Yasmine again

"To fight a war, any war, you need a lot of things. Not the least of which is supplies, which in this case means Dust. You can buy it, sure, but in large quantities it draws attention. Especially if you're well known. Thus, the other "logical" option..."

"...is to steal them." finished Reyson with a smirk

"Yes. Over the last few months, not long after your father Macro got that report about the Heralds, we noticed Dust shipments being ransacked, stolen, missing. The people who transport them were either killed, or dealt with in such a way that they didn't know who attacked them. Thus, it was believed to be a Grimm attack, or bandits."

"But you know better." stated Glyph

"I do, and so do the others who know about the Heralds. We've tried catching some of them, but they're...very good at avoiding detection. Benefit of hiding for a century or so. However, with careful planning, and misinformation, we believe we have a perfect trap for them. That is your mission."

"We're the bait?" asked Diana shocked

"No. You're not. You're protecting the bait. We have a shipment of Dust being guided by road to a port that'll take it to Atlas. You're to be the bodyguards...on the surface anyway."

Macro went over the plan in his head, "And when the Heralds come, we'll be ready to take them out. Right?"

Night nodded, "Right. Ironically enough, your previous encounter with them makes you perfect for this mission. You won't be as likely to be caught off guard. And since you know they'll be coming, you'll be up for a fight at a moments notice."

Yasmine stepped forward, "I see a problem. Like you said, we fought them before, won't they hesitate when they see us?"

"Perhaps. But no one, not even your father Macro, knows who I'm selecting for the mission. Not even your professors know the mission your groups were to participate in when they selected you for it. Only I know who is going. So if the Heralds hesitate, it'll be because they fear you beating them up rather than sensing a trap."

Several of them laughed at this, while the others remained quite. Night waited for them to quiet down before continuing, "Furthermore, their creed about Faunus is quite absolute, if they see a Faunus, their instincts will take over and try to attack."

"Thanks?" exclaimed Leilani now frightened

"You're not bait, it's happenstance that both teams here have a Faunus. Besides, if anything, this'll make sure all of you don't fail. For if you do, Yasmine and Leilani will likely be taken."

"No pressure." stated Glyph with a grunt

"If we felt we could do this will full-on Huntsmen and Huntresses we would, but we're trying to make this a worthy target, one they'll feel they can take easily. Like the ones from before. I would not have put you on this mission if I didn't think you could work together and do it. However, these are your lives, so I'll ask you, do you accept the mission I am giving you?"

Macro looked to The Lovers and Leilani, though they had clear hesitation, especially Leilani, they all nodded and agreed to it. Glyph looked to Diana, Reyson, and Yasmine, who all gave him confident looks and nodded eagerly. Glyph turned to Macro next, who matched their look and nodded, to which Glyph did the same.

"We accept." said Macro and Glyph in unison as they looked back to Night.

Night sighed in relief, and beamed at them, "I am proud to be your Headmaster, and every team was like the two before me now, the world would be a much better place."

"Ah...go on..." teased Diana

"I mean it. I would've accepted your request to not do it, but with you doing it? You're helping a lot of people."

"That's why we came here," said Glyph, "to help."

Macro nodded proudly, "Right. So, when are we leaving?"

"Tonight. You'll head to a storage facility north of here, a good distance away. You'll meet the people you're guiding, then stay the night. At dawn, you'll head out."

"Not to ask the obvious question," said Aaron aloud, "if transportation is such an issue, why can't the Dust be airlifted out?"

"I was wondering that too." admitted Erin

"As was I." added Yasmine

Night chuckled and shrugged at this, "Despite what people think, airships aren't as popular and widespread as other modes of transportation. Furthermore, airships can be identified as important in numerous ways just by appearing. The Heralds would be able to take them down, and then hide the evidence much easier than a caravan. Not only that the company you're helping is very traditional, and is none for doing land and sea travel by all."

"Ah, so the Heralds would suspect a trap even less because all would seem normal outside of extra security." realized Reyson

"Correct Reyson, very astute."

Reyson smiled teasingly at Yasmine after getting the praise, to which she just rolled her eyes.

Night again chuckled, but then continued, "Regardless, the plan is set. Make your preparations, but I suggest you go light in all but your ammo and weapons. The trek will take the better part of a day on foot, but, food and water will be provided for you by the caravan."

"Noted. We'll be ready for combat should the Heralds show up." acknowledged Macro

"Good. One last thing. Your mission is to protect the cargo and try to catch the Heralds. We need one of them alive. More if you can. At the very least, try and get a look at one of their faces. The smallest detail can help us take them down, and stop a cycle of violence before it begins. Can I count on you?" He scanned them all, and one by one they nodded in agreement. Night smiled and nodded as well, "Thank you all. Good luck. Dismissed."

With that, the teams headed out. Both went straight to their rooms without a word to their teammates or friends, all were locked in their own minds about the mission ahead, and the duty that given to them. It was something that meant something, and wasn't to be taken lightly.

As they went through their battle gear, each made sure they exactly what they need. Macro made sure he had plenty of bullets and Dust, and checked his weapons to look for even the smallest thing that could cause his weapon to fail. The Lovers did likewise, but also pulled out the chest they won on the treasure hunt, and took the special Dust bullets inside. Leilani made sure she had all her Dust Sharpies at the ready, and even used some to change the colors of the claws on her arms.

With GRYD, Glyph went through some battle motions with his escrima. Diana did similar with her whip. Yasmine checked on her drones. While Reyson made sure his swords were as sharp as could be. Hours passed, and the teams were still thinking about the mission when an attendant knocked on their doors to alert them it was time to leave. They silently left, and entered an airship once they hit the grounds.

As they flew off, they couldn't help but look at the school. Though they all felt that they would see it again, they looked at it in a different light. As if the school was somehow a safe haven, and yet, now they were leaving it for a mission that could truly affect their world. This humbled them. Even Reyson was affected.

Hours later, they arrived at the facility. It was surrounded by small mountains on all sides, which was why Grimm never attacked it. Yet as the teams landed, they saw a visible path through two of them. Macro and Glyph made special note of this as they exited the airship. Now on the ground, a group of security greeted them. They were led by a man with white and grey hair, but with a thick black mustache. He wore a refined suit that was also a mix of black and white.

Upon reaching MEAL and GRYD, he looked at them all and bowed, "Greetings I am Emern Twili. Head of the Mt. Dust Company, I am honored you are here to help us. Times are...well, they aren't what they used to be...and yet...they kind of are."

He laughed at his pun, several of the team members joined in that, save for Glyph and Macro, who merely smiled.

"As I'm sure your Headmaster told you, you are to escort us to a specific point on the coast, which is several miles northeast of here. We'll leave at dawn, and as long as nothing interferes, we'll be there around dusk."

"So...Night wasn't kidding when he said this was a day trip?"

"Ha! No. He wasn't. We take care of our shipments, part of our reputation. And even though the port is the same, we don't take the same route every day. This one today was selected by Night to ensure security."

The teams gave each other a knowing look, but hid it quickly so Emern wouldn't catch it.

Macro stepped forward to get his attention, "Is there any preparation you'd like us to take before the mission?"

Emern laughed heartily at this, "Ah, you must be Gunners' son, I see him in you."

"Yes sir, proud to be."

"As you should, he's a good man. Helped me out of a tight spot once to help keep our record intact in regards to shipments. I can rest easy knowing a Camof will be leading security for this."

"I'm only as good as my team, and my friends." Macro said motioning to the rest

"Then I'll sleep even easier tonight. As for your question, I say you should take a look at the caravan, plan out how you want to protect it as we trek along. If you wish Macro, I can tell you and your fellow team lead the path we'll be taking, get your input on it. You might have a unique perspective on what might happen. Night warned me about the previous attacks on caravans, I don't want that to happen here."

"We'll do our best to protect your team, and the shipment, that's why we're here." said Glyph with a reassuring nod

Emern was content with the response, and motioned for them to follow him into the factory. He first should them the caravan. It was a multi-part armored train of sorts, powered by a small vehicle at the front. At the sides along the carts were eight pieces of metal protruding out. Emern stated that this is where the teams would be standing and watching over the route. They were position so that there would be three on each side of the cart, then one on the very end, and one just behind the pilot vehicle. Macro seemed pleased with this arrangement, as did Glyph and Yasmine. The others merely tested the positions to ensure they could stay on, and still be somewhat comfortable.

After that, they guided to their rooms for the night. Macro and Glyph were asked to join Emern to go over the route. Glyph asked if Yasmine could come to, Emern agreed. As they were shown the map, Emern traced the route they would take with his finger, "As you can see, it's a pretty guarded route. We've used it in the past to be honest. But we haven't in a while."

"Why not?" asked Glyph

"It's one of the longer routes, and the others have been relatively safe for a good while. Haven't had a Grimm attack in some time along them. They're also about an hour quicker, so we didn't mind. But with these attacks? I'm fine going back to this one, Night seems to think so too."

"Indeed..." said as he poured over the map, "you're right though, this route is pretty safe. I do see some potential weak spots though. Yasmine? What do you think?"

Yasmine studied the map for a few minutes, looking deep into the topography that was displayed, "I see three potential problems. Here, here, and here."

As she outlined, Emern got an impressed look on his face, "Wow. Uh, you're right, those are small breaks in areas where either people or Grimm could ambush us. Another reason I'm glad you're joining us on this."

"Will there be a way to alert us when these points are coming? So we can be prepared just in case?" wondered Macro

"Yes, our driver has a map guide on his phone that tells him the route. I'll have him program these points and let you know when you're getting near them. Be honest with me, is there a serious danger here."

The three looked at each other with reserved expressions, but Glyph broke it, "Sir, this is Remnant, there's always serious danger."

This seemed to put Emern at ease, "So true. Very well, do you think that there..."

The four discussed things for a little while longer, then when a solid plan was formed, the three went back to their rooms for a bit. As the teams talked amongst one another, they became restless, and eager to get on with the mission. Glyph was especially restless, and went outside the factory to calm his mind. The moon was out in full view, and Glyph stared at it for some time.

Still not feeling at peace, he wandered around the factory to tire himself out. On one pass, as he turned a corner, he ran into Leilani. Knocking her to the ground. He quickly recovered and pulled her up, "Sorry Leilani."

"It's ok!" she said squirrely as she noticed it was Glyph, "It's ok...I wasn't looking where I was going."

She looked up at him to see Glyph smiling kindly at her, this made her blush and look away quickly. Glyph then became curious, "Why are you out here? You restless as well?"

Focusing on the question, she turned back to him, "Yeah, this mission...it has me worried..."

"Because of the Heralds?"

"Yes. I know we all fought them, but you didn't see them like me and Yasmine did. Cornering us, chanting, calling us "impure"...I don't like them Glyph, and I'm nervous about what'll happen if they do show up."

"We'll do exactly what we did last time. Beat them."

She smiled at him, and he smiled back, which made her fidget in place, "Can't seem to calm down. Not sure why."

Glyph laughed and took a step closer to her, when she saw they were mere inches apart she blushed, to which he said softly, "Yeah you do."

Leilani got very red at this, and started to stammer, "I...I...I...

Glyph put his hands on her shoulders and looked at her calmly, "It's ok, we can talk about it later. Just be sure you're focused on the mission when the time comes, ok?"

She hastily nodded, and Glyph nodded in reply before walking away. Leilani took some heavy breaths to calm herself, but got oddly composed and looked back to Glyph, "Are you...going to keep walking around?"

He stopped and looked at her, "I am."

"Do you...mind if I join you? I...may not be able to talk but...I...I could keep you company."

He smiled, "I'd like that."

Leilani smiled widely and quickly raced to his side, and together they walked around the compound until they were ready for sleep.

Morning came, and the sun slowly began to peek into the sky. The teams were woken up, and they each readied themselves for what was about to happen. As they made it to the ground, Emern greeted them.

"Good morning, I hope you got some rest," he said as he looked at them

"I always sleep well when I know a battle is coming the next day." stated Reyson with his typical smile

"I...see...aren't you a Heron?"

"I'm the black sheep."

"Moving on," interjected Macro, "are we ready to go sir? The sooner we leave, the quicker we arrive."

"Yes, yes, you're right. The drive will be pulling out the caravan any minute. Once it's out, hop in, and you'll be off. Be safe out there, I do care about my shipment mind you, but I don't want any harm to come to all as well."

"We'll do our best to stay safe." said Diana with a shrug

"But our job today is to protect your cargo, and we shall do so gloriously." boasted Aaron

"And we'll protect your driver too." added Erin with a smile

"I appreciate that. Oh, I see the caravan now. Good luck to you all. Safe journey."

The sound of an engine made them all turn, and sure enough, the caravan pulled up right next to them. Macro had Yasmine, Leilani, and Diana take one side, with The Lovers and Reyson on the other. While him and Glyph were put on the front and back of the vehicle respectively.

Slowly, but surely, the caravan left, and the mission began. As they began through the early mountain passes, the team kept their heads on a swivel, trying to make sure they weren't caught off guard by anything that could be around them.

An hour passed, and Macro stopped the caravan so that they could swap positions, as well as stretch their legs. Once done, they proceeded on. Two hours passed, and nothing had appeared. However, the driver signaled Diana, who was in the front position.

"We're about to reach the first open area!" she shouted to both sides so that they could know

Within a few minutes, the break in the mountains was upon them, and they began their descent into a covered plains area. Glyph watched the area around him carefully, but stopped when he saw a black dot coming towards them. He watched as it got closer, and closer, until the figure was more pronounced. It wasn't a dot, it was a bird, a big one.

"Nevermore! South side" he shouted loudly

The others turned, or raised themselves up onto the top of the caravan to see. They waited with baited breath to see what the Nevermore would do. Sure enough, it made a large screech, and raced towards them with increased speed.

"We need to take it down quick!" cried out Macro

"I can do it." said Glyph reading his escrima, he then turned to Leilani, "Lend me a hand?"

This took her aback, but she quickly nodded, "Sure!"

Glyph focused on the Nevermore, muttering to himself what he had to do. Once the Nevermore was truly barrowing down on them, de held out his hand, and though she hesitated, she took it. The two disappeared in an instant.

They then reappeared an instant later on the Nevermore. The Grimm screeched as it felt them land on its back, but it didn't try to stop them. Instead, it continued towards the caravan.

"Use your claws to do damage here!" instructed Glyph, "I'll work on crippling the wings and head."

Leilani nodded, "On it!"

Glyph disappeared, and Leilani brought out her claws, several prongs of which were imbued with elements like fire and electricity. With ferocity, Leilani plunged her claws into the Nevermore, making the Grimm screech in pain. But Leilani didn't let up, even when the bird finally tried to shake her off. In fact, she used one claw to root her in place, and the other to stab at the Grimm's body.

Meanwhile, Glyph was teleporting around the Grimm, striking at it with his Escrima, then teleporting away to strike it somewhere else. One time, when the Nevermore tried to shake off Leilani, it affected Glyph in a way that actually knocked him off the bird. But he teleported right back on it.

Back on solid footing, he looked to Leilani, who was still carving up the Grimm, "Leilani! I'll finish it off! Get ready for a quick teleport!"

She nodded that she was ready, and Glyph formed his shotgun and pointed it right at the head of the Nevermore, once he was charged up, he fired, and blew of a chuck of the Grimm's head off.

The Grimm disappeared into smoke, and the two began to fall, but Glyph teleported to Leilani, grabbed her hand, then teleported to the caravan. They fell on top of it with a thud, and the others came quickly to help them up.

"You ok?" asked Yasmine to Leilani, worried about her sister

"I'm fine sis, thank you." she replied happily

"Nice job out there, partner," praised Diana, "But next time? I want to dance."

"That wasn't a dance Diana." pointed out Glyph

"Tomato, tomato."

"Not really Red." corrected Reyson, with an appreciative punch to Glyph for good measure, "Nice job out there. But I want the next Nevermore, haven't fought one of those in ages."

"You can have it!" said Leilani with a laugh

"Do you think that'll be the extent of our troubles?" asked Aaron

"I don't know if we're that lucky..." noted Erin

"Sadly," stated Macro grimly, "this attack will draw attention to our location. Along with the route we're taking. Be ready, I think we just guaranteed the Heralds are coming."

On that somber note, they all proceeded back to their lookout positions. Hours passed again with no incident. No Grimm or Heralds came across their path. They proceeded right pass the second open area without any incident. While this made some of them happy, it made the others nervous.

A while later, Yasmine was alerted that the third open area was drawing closer. She alerted the others. A few minutes later though, Leilani and Erin saw something in the road ahead, and asked the others to go up top to see what it was.

As they did, they saw 4 hooded figures blocking the path. While the majority of them tensed up. Glyph looked at them curiously, "Reyson? Aaron?"

"Yes?" answered The Lovers

"...male Aaron...please..."

Aaron and Reyson joined him, Reyson looked to his leader eager for a fight, "What's up? You want to start the fight early?"

"Yes."

"Wait, what?" sputtered Aaron

"Aaron, use your crossbows, Reyson, use your canons, blow them up."

"But..."

"DO IT!" roared Glyph

"Heck yeah," said Reyson arming his canons

Aaron reluctantly raised his crossbows, and in unison fired some volleys. To their surprise, the hooded figures didn't move, and took the hit full on. When the smoke cleared, the cloaks where flat on the ground.

"It was a decoy!" shouted Macro angrily, and looking around for the real threat

They all tensed up, and readied their weapons. The area around them was hilly, and rough, with plenty of places to hide. Minutes passed, and the continued their watch. Suddenly, several figures rose up from the nearby hills. All were cloaked figures, but this time, they were truly moving, even raising their swords high into the air, and lighting them on fire.

"It's them!" exclaimed Leilani

"It's ok, we're ready for them." said Yasmine with calming look to her sister

"She's right, weapons up!" ordered Macro, to which the others complied

Glyph vanished for a second, then reappeared, "Told the drive we're about to fight, he'll go as fast as he can."

"Good call. No matter what, two people on the caravan at all times. Understood?"

The others gave their acknowledgements, then watched as the number of Heralds grew before their eyes. To their surprise those, they remained stationary. That is, until a chant began to be heard, and they flung their swords forward, shooting the flames into the air, and towards the caravan.

"Oh you gotta be kidding me!" cried Reyson

"Aaron!" shouted Macro

Aaron put away his crossbows, "On it!", he then focused and then flew his arms out. A shield enveloped the teams and the caravans. The flames hit the shield, but did no damage. Once gone, Aaron dropped the shield and fell to one knee, breathing heavily as he did.

Erin immediately went to him, "Are you ok?"

He smirked, "Of course, I have you."

Diana whistled to get their attention, "Hey, lovey dovey talk later! They're coming!"

The Lover rose up, and saw that the Heralds were now racing towards them with surprising speed. Glyph got an odd look on his face, and turned around just in time to see three Heralds jumping towards them. He reacted quickly though, formed his shotgun, and blasted the three out of the air.

Reloading, he looked to the others, "Stay sharp, no one takes this cargo, and if you get them down on caravan, pin them. We need them for later."

Before they could respond, another group of Heralds jumped onto the caravan. This time, Yasmine and Leilani worked together to knock them off. As Yasmine looked around at the numbers, she grimaced, then got alight with an idea. She separated her lances into her four drones, then positioned them above the caravan in four perfectly placed spots so that they could survey everything coming.

Leilani saw this and got worried, "You have no weapons now!"

"Yeah I do, I have you." she replied with a smirk

"Line stealer!" called out Aaron as he dispatched a Herald

"You can't fault them for that", said Erin mid-fight, "It was a very sweet line."

"Why thank you darling."

"You're welcome dear."

Diana was taking on three Heralds at once during this, and used her whip skills to take them out rapid fire, "Will...you...focus! I don't want to die because you two can't oogling over each other!"

"Jealous much Diana?"

"Don't get me started."

A Herald approached Diana from behind and raised a sword to her, Macro saw this though and shot him away, "She's right, enough with the chatter, there's more coming!"

Reyson turned to see fight Heralds around him, he smiled evilly and tore through them with his swords. Once done, he turned to Macro, "I'm all for a fight, but this like overkill. Either they knew we were coming, or they REALLY want this Dust."

Glyph teleported next Reyson, and pointed to more Heralds. They quickly handled them, "You're right, something is off here. Can't dwell on it though. Focus on the fight."

"Always do!"

The fight went on, the caravan progressed without hindrance in front of it. But in every other direction, the battle waged between GRYD, MEAL, and the Heralds.

Because of positioning, there was always two or three team members on a section at a time, keeping the fighting tight, but also manageable. As it went on though, Glyph started noticing a trend. Despite their repeated victories, the Heralds were still coming, nothing seemed to stop them.

He took a deep breath, then teleported away. In the course of seconds, he took off and fought every Herald that was in view. Beating them up, knocking them out, then moving on. It was a blur of motion and action. One that even his teammates couldn't keep up with. Eventually though there was only one left. Glyph knocked the Herald out, and teleported with him back to the caravan.

Once there, he nearly collapsed, Macro and Diana got to him, "You ok partner?"

"You shouldn't have pushed yourself like that," warned Macro

"Had to...do it...ah..."

"Uh, guys?" said Leilani pointing to behind the caravan, "That's...not good..."

They all looked to see a swarm of Heralds coming to them. Even Reyson was gobsmacked by this, "Oh come on! Where are these guys coming from!"

Macro looked at it with both concern and distaste, "Doesn't matter, we have to take them out. Suggestions?"

"We got one!" said Erin happily, "We suggest you stand back."

"Oh yes," said Aaron proudly, "this could get...well...something epic I'm sure."

Confused, the others watched as the Lovers pulled out brightly glowing Dust capsules and loaded them into their weapons. Together they aimed towards the Heralds.

"Ready darling?"

"Ready dear."

"Fire! they shouted in unison

The dust bolt launched from their weapons, and once in midair, they seemed to connect via strands of energy. Linked together, the red and green bolts impacted the Heralds, and they were instantly consumed by an explosion, but not a damaging one. But rather, one that set upon them like a vicious gas. They watch as the Heralds seemed to choke on air, then fall to the ground.

"Was that...sleeping gas?" asked Yasmine curious

Reyson made a sound of disgust, "Should've been poison."

"Yes, because a Headmaster giving out poison gas Dust to students is such a good idea." noted Yasmine with venom at Reyson

"...point taken."

Macro observed the mass of Heralds that was slowly disappearing, when none seemed to follow, he gave an approving look to The Lovers.

"Nice job you two." he said proudly, "You might have just saved the day."

"It was our pleasure," said Aaron grandishly

Erin smiled at Macro, "Well and truly."

Macro laughed at the two and shook his head, "Right. Well, we're not done yet. Stay sharp in case someone else decides to ruin the party."

"Don't forget about him though..." said Diana pointing to the Herald Glyph caught, who was beginning to stir

She went over to him and jerked the hood off his head, as his face turned to her, Diana recoiled in shock, even taking a few steps backwards, "I know you. You...you work with my mother."

"Wait, what?" asked Macro incredulously, "What does your mother do Diana?"

"She works in the military...he's a liaison from one of the Dust manufacturers in Atlas..."

"That's how they knew about the shipment...wait, your mothers name wouldn't be Orchid would it?"

Diana looked surprised at his guess, "Yeah...is that problem?"

"Uh, maybe...another time. Let's focus on him. You want to do the honors?"

Suspicious, but letting it slide, Diana stomped on the man to make sure his attention was on her, "Talk! Why did the Heralds want this shipment so badly? Who else is one of them?"

He cough a bit because of the stomp, but smiled evilly at her once he got his composure back, "We do not betray our own. You'll get nothing from me."

"Oh really?"

Diana pulled back out her whip, and wrapped the end his neck and pulled, instantly making him choke.

"Want to try that again?"

Glyph grabbed her arm to stop the choke, "We need him alive, he won't talk to us, but someone else might get him to open up."

"You're right, and I know just the person," she said with a smile as the whip retracted, "yes, I know just who. You think you're tough? I saw how you looked at my mother when she was giving orders. Imagine how intimidated you'll be when she's across from you in an interrogation room."

The man grimaced at this, but then smiled again, "I doubt she'll be in a right state...with your injury and all."

With unexpected speed he flung a knife out at her, but to both their surprise Glyph got in front of her just in time, and the knife shattered his aura, and went right into his shoulder. He fell to the ground with a groan.

"Glyph!" shouted Diana and Leilani as they raced to him

Reyson roared in rage and kicked the Herald right in the face, knocking him back out. Macro joined Leilani and Diana in checking on Glyph, he examined the wound, "Ok, it's deep, but I think it missed some key stuff. This is going to hurt Glyph, but we need to keep the knife in, my medical supplies won't cover this, but maybe something in the ship can. If not that, there's surely someone at the port."

"I'm fine, just a scratch." Glyph said with a smile

"I'd hit you partner, but I know it'd hurt more, so I won't." joked Diana

"Appreciated."

"Can we get to the port any faster?" asked Leilani concerned

"I'll talk to the driver. You two watch over Glyph, the rest of you keep on high alert. Just in case."

Macro left, and the others surrounded the trio and kept watch. To their relief though, nothing happened the rest of the trip.

An hour later, at the port, Glyph got examined by some medical staff at a clinic. While he was, the other were approached by Emern, who flew in to oversee the transport to the ship and check on the others.

"I would say congratulations are in order. But, I also know one of your team leads got hurt, so, I don't want to rub salt in the wound" he said somberly

"The mission was accomplished sir, and no one died. We even got one of the attackers to question. That's what Glyph wanted." stated Macro with a blank expression

"A noble man."

"I have a question." announced Reyson, getting Macro's attention, "What kind of Dust were we transporting? Those...uh...hooded guys were not just in big numbers, they were determined to get it at all costs. What was in it?"

He burned a hole into Emern with his gaze, the others added to this, making him uncomfortable, but he soon composed himself and shrugged, "I suppose it's only fair. As you know, the military in Atlas is the best in the world, or so they say. They're always looking for new ways to improve their arsenals. That Dust you protected? Is the first wave in a new batch of Dust that's going out to the military all over Remnant. It's going to Atlas first to be field tested, but we have high hopes for it, and what comes next."

"So if they had gotten it, that...group...would've been very powerful?" wondered Yasmine

"I would dare say that with that Dust, they would've been quite formidable for some time. So thank you for not letting that happen."

He bowed to them, and left. The others look upon each other with worry, anger, and confusion.

"What now?" asked Leilani

"Now?" replied Macro, looking at the ship, "Now we be grateful we stopped this, for now. Let's wait for Glyph to get patched up, our ride home should be here soon. Then? We wait for what's next. I'm not exaggerating when I say it's likely to come very soon. The Heralds won't like what we did, they'll want payback, however they can get it..."

Far away, two hooded figures converged in a hallway, one handed a note to another and left. One red the note and growled angrily. Another hooded being appeared next to the other.

"Did the mission fail?" asked a female voice from under the hood

"Yes," replied a male, "the children from Vale interfered again."

"That's quite a coincidence...or is it?"

"It is hard to determine at present. Luck was the reason the first time, can one be lucky twice?"

"It has been known to happen. Was any of us captured?"

"One. He's being taking to Atlas, to Orchid. We will to do something about it."

"I'll think of something. What about the children. Shall we make a move against them?"

"Yes. But it will need to be something that's not attached to us. With this shipment lost, we need to be in the shadows for awhile."

"So...something natural?"

"No, something...Grimm..."

*credits*


	14. Chapter 13

GRYD Chapter 13 - The Last Stand

Far away, several cloaked figures gathered in a room in a circle. One spot was empty for a time, until another cloaked figured filled it.

This figure looked around the group, and a male voice rang out "Is the plan ready?"

"It'll begin momentarily," answered a female voice, "by the end of the day, the attack will begin on Vale."

"Are the children there? The ones who stopped us?"

"It's hard to say, it's likely they're students at Beacon. However, their...ability to be around when trouble comes makes it likely that they'll be there one way or another."

"Good. What of the captured?"

The cloaked female shifted in place, "Plans are in motion, but it will take time. He's holding strong for now. But..."

The man grunted, "Orchid is stronger, I know that from personal experience. Use any means you have to. Silence him, or free him, I care not which. But do it quickly. After these attacks, we must go underground for a time. The Heralds must not be exposed, not yet."

The group muttered in agreement, and one by one they all left the circle.

At Beacon Academy, in the room of Team GRYD, Glyph got ready for the day, as he put on his overcoat, he winced in pain. His shoulder was still hurting from the knife shot he got during the protection mission. He took it to protect Diana, and though he was healed on the outside, the insides still stung. He was assured though that wouldn't last much longer, he was holding them to that.

He turned to his teammates, who were also getting ready. It had been a few days since the mission, and though everyone was playing down what happened, at the request of Headmaster Night, all were still reeling from the fact that the Heralds of Purity almost got their hands on top notch Dust that was meant for the military. It weighed on them heavily that at any moment, the Heralds could do another attack, one far away from them, and this time, get what they want. Glyph was especially burdened by this.

A knock on the door snapped him out of his funk. He went and opened it, and was surprised that Leilani was there.

"Hey Glyph," she said with a kind smile

"Hey Leilani," he replied, "I'll get Yasmine."

"Actually...I wanted to talk to you."

He looked at her curiously, but then smiled, "Ok, what's up?"

Clearly surprised it went that smoothly, Leilani fidgeted in place, and focused on her Dust Sharpie bandoleer, "I...um...wanted to see how you were feeling, with your shoulder and all. I know you've been in and out of the infirmary since the mission."

"Yeah, routine though, I'm fine."

"Good...good..."

Silence followed, Leilani tried to meet Glyphs' eyes, but quickly brought them back down. Glyph laughed softly as he saw this, "Is that all you wanted to ask?"

Her bunny ears fell flat against her head, which hid the fact that she was blushing, but to her credit, she took a deep breath and looked up at him with confident eyes, "Actually...I wanted to see if you...would be up for going-"

"Glyph!" came a shout

He turned into the room, and saw that Diana, Yasmine, and Reyson were all ready to leave. The shout though came from Diana specifically, who had a very odd look on her face, "Talk later, we're going to be late for class."

Glyph looked at her suspiciously, but nodded before turning back to Leilani, "To be continued, ok?"

"Ok...ok..." she said defeated

With that, Glyph turned and left. Reyson came out next and gave a sympathetic shrug to her. Diana was next, and didn't look at Leilani at first, but once into the hallway, she spun around, and wagged a finger back and forth teasingly to her before turning around again.

Leilani hung her head in shame once Diana was out of sight, and let out an audible groan.

"You were going to ask him, weren't you?" asked Yasmine as she came up to her sister

"Yeah..." she said sadly

Yasmine came over and hugged Leilani, who found comfort in this.

"I know it didn't go down like you wanted, but think of it like this, if it wasn't for Diana, you would've asked. That's a big step for you."

"Yeah...I guess it is."

"And if it helps? I'll distract Diana next time, make sure she doesn't interfere."

This surprised Leilani, "You saw that finger wag?"

Yasmine made a sound of disgust, "No, but that certainly sounds like Diana. I saw her getting more and more agitated as you and Glyph continued to talk. She couldn't hear you, but, she could probably guess where things were headed. So she broke it up."

"All's fair in love and war I guess..."

"Oh, so you love Glyph now?"

Leilani froze in place and blushed, Yasmine laughed and wrapped an arm around her sister and guided her down the hallway, "I'm kidding, just relax. Something tells me this'll be an eventful day. Who knows, you might get another chance to ask him out."

"Thanks sis."

As Leilani and Yasmine made it to their class, they were surprised when all the others, and all their other classmates were simply waiting in the halls.

"What's going on?" asked Yasmine as they got closer

"No clue," answered Reyson, who then pointed to the classroom door they were supposed to have gone through, "note says wait in the halls, except all the doors say that apparently."

"That's weird." noted Leilani

"In more ways than one," stated Aaron, looking suspicious, "the teachers don't like to do surprises, I wonder if something is up."

"I hope not." wished Erin

"Let's not jump to conclusions," said Macro in a calm voice, "could be nothing."

"Worrying does no one good." added Glyph

"Whatever you say, partner." teased Diana with a playful smile to him

Glyph rolled his eyes and shook his head. Diana meanwhile laughed and gave a look to Leilani, who looked away. But when Diana saw Yasmine glaring at her, she backed off. They went into separate conversations until a tapping of the speaker system got their attention.

"Students, attention students. This is Headmaster Night."

Everyone stopped cold at this, and immediately turned their heads towards the closest speaker.

"As you know, you all recently partook in missions for the greater good of Remnant. I was very happy to review all the reports and find out that you were all successful in your tasks. Thus, after discussing it with your teachers, we have decided to give you a day off. You can do whatever you want, even go to Vale if you so wish, we have transports outside waiting for you to do so if you desire to go. Just remember, you represent Beacon. Do behave. A wonderful day students, you've earned it."

The moment he was done, the students leapt for joy and shouted for their day off. Once the noise had died down, the students went off in all directions. Both GRYD and MEAL waited though, and only once everyone else was gone did they speak.

"Didn't see that coming." revealed Glyph

"It is odd..." agreed Macro

"Hey!" exclaimed Diana, getting their attention with a snap of the finger, "What happened to not jumping to conclusions? Let's enjoy this chance and go to Vale, we can have fun like last time!"

"We were attacked by the Heralds last time." corrected Yasmine

"Fair...but that was at the tail end of the day, the rest was fun, right?"

She looked to the others for support, who all nodded in agreement.

"It would be nice to see the city again..." said Leilani meekly, "we could all go together again...if you want to course."

Diana was surprised by her support, Glyph, Macro, and Yasmine all smiled at her because of it.

"Frankly," interjected Aaron, "we owe it to ourselves to relax for a bit. That mission...it pushed us hard, we've been on edge ever since we got back."

"We might not admit it, but we're all tense. Especially with Glyph getting injured. Why not take a day for us. Don't we deserve it after all the good we've done?"

With Erin's appeal, they all got a little more relaxed, Reyson let out his usual laugh, "The city beckons! Why not see what it offers this go round?"

Macro put up a hand to calm them down, "Let's make it fair, who wants to go to Vale?"

They all raised their hands, even Glyph. Macro nodded pleased.

"Great, let's go then."

With a motion, they headed down the hallway, then out the school, and towards the city.

The city of Vale was booming with life once they arrived, because it was early in the morning still, people and Faunus were off to work, and starting their work days. As GRYD and MEAL arrived and looked around, they all wondered what they should do.

Reyson looked around at his possible opponents and cracked his knuckles, "So, where to first?"

"Somewhere you won't get us in trouble." stated Reyson

"That's not a lot of options."

"Say the word and I can make it EVERY option."

The two glared at each other, and only a whistle broke them up. It was Macro, who looked at them in disbelief, "Seriously? Didn't we start the last Vale trip in a similar fashion."

The two looked at the other, then back to Macro, "Maybe."

"My gosh, Glyph, take over."

"I don't care where we go. But this...we stay together, all day. Ok? Just this once."

Though unhappy about it at first, they all agreed.

Macro patted Glyph on the shoulder for the suggestion, "Good call. Probably safer that way. Though this was an unexpected trip, you never know what's coming. I say we just walk the streets first, and see what catches our eyes, ok?"

"Wonderful!" said Aaron loudly, and extending an arm to Erin, "Shall we?"

"With pleasure." she said with a smile as she wrapped her arm around his

After the Lovers took point Diana, Reyson, Yasmine, and Leilani soon followed, with Macro and Glyph taking the rear. They wandered the streets for a while, just taking a look at the people, or seeing what sights greeted them.

Soon though, Macro looked at Glyph with concern, "How's the shoulder?"

"Ha! You're the second member of your team to ask about that today." replied Glyph

"Oh, so that's why Leilani stayed behind. That all you two talked about?"

"Pretty much. She was going to ask me something, but Diana "interrupted" us."

Macro whistled lowly, "Wow. You poor soul Glyph, two girls pining after you. Got a preference?"

Glyph grunted, "I like them both, but only one annoys me currently."

"Wow, can't believe you find Leilani annoying..."

Glyph gave him a "come on, man!" look, to which Macro laughed and waved him down, "I'm kidding! Kidding."

"Right. Anyway, what should we do?"

"Well, I suggest luring Diana away so that Leilani can ask you-"

"About the Heralds Macro!"

"Oh, right...that's what you meant." Macro teased

"Macro..." warned Glyph

"Ok, ok. In all honesty? I don't know. That knife that pierced your shoulder? It shouldn't have broke through your Aura like that. You were rested a bit before he threw it. It should've blocked it, But it didn't. That worries me."

"Same."

"Be honest, does it hurt still?"

"Yeah, it does."

"Well, just try and take it easy today, ok?"

"Almost looking out for me."

"That's what friends do. That and hook up their best friends with girls that like them."

Macro made to continue, but another glare from Glyph shut him down, but with a laugh. Before they could start another conversation, they looked up to see Leilani waving them down.

"Come on you guys!" she called out to them, "You have to check this out! There's a little party happening over here."

Intrigued, the two sped up to see what was going on. To their surprise, there was indeed a mini-party of sorts going on. A group was playing instruments on a corner of a street. There were flutes, guitars, even a violin, all playing just for the fun of playing. The crowd that was around them was very much into it. And as Macro and Glyph got even closer, they saw why.

For in an open space, The Lovers were dancing to the music. Not to please anyone, but rather, just so they could dance with the other. Their eyes rarely left the gaze of the others as they danced, twirled, and moved to the beat of the instruments.

Glyph couldn't help and smile at the purity of the act he was seeing. Though he wouldn't admit, he was a bit jealous of the connection Aaron and Erin had with one another. It was a pure love that he wasn't sure he could ever have because of his past.

"Want to be next, partner?" said Diana suddenly appearing at his side

"No." he responded bluntly, "Don't ruin their moment."

"I said "next", as in after they're done. Even I'm enjoying this, I wouldn't ruin it."

"That's good to know."

"So is that a "yes"?

"No."

"You'll dance with me one day, I promise you that."

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

"I don't."

He looked at her with a glare, but Diana responded with an innocent smile, and he couldn't help but laugh and shake his head before returning his attention to The Lovers, who were still dancing the day away.

Soon though, the band finished their song, and The Lovers finished their dance. Which immediately made the crowd clap in appreciation. GRYD and MEAL clapped the loudest for their friends. Aaron and Erin bowed to the crowd, and made sure attention was given to the band as well before rejoining their friends.

Macro patted Aaron on the shoulder as they came over, "You two always did know how to put on a show."

"Very nice, both of you." added Glyph

"Well, we don't get to dance as much as we used too," admitted Erin with a sad smile, "we couldn't resist."

"And I'm glad we didn't!" boasted Aaron proudly, "I feel more alive than we did during that mission. Also...that just reaffirmed my love for you Erin."

"Aww..."

"Ugh," gagged Diana, "you had to go there didn't you? You couldn't just say she's a magnificent dancer?"

"I already knew that, that doesn't bear repeating. My response though will be said every day for as long as we're together."

"And I will gag every time I hear it happen so sappily."

The others laughed at this, even The Lovers. Reyson though was happy to break up the love fest, "Ok, we did your kind of fun can we wander around some more, see if my kind of fun finds us?"

"Why must you always ruin the moment?" asked Yasmine testily

"Better someone you know than someone you don't." he snapped back

"Why you little-"

"Sis, don't." begged Leilani, "Let's go walk around, see what else Vale has to offer today."

"Fine. But you lead Leilani."

With that, Leilani and Yasmine took point and led the others off down a path. Both Glyph and Macro shot warning looks at Reyson as they passed by him to not cause trouble.

Far away, in a laboratory, a man examines Grimm that are contained in tubes. Some are augmented, while others maintain their purest forms. He writes down notes on a clipboard as he examines them.

"Hmm...changes are happening quickly in this one...but not in the other, why?" he asks himself as he examines a couple of Boarbatusks, "I thought I had perfected the enhancements in the last batch, did I forget something?"

He strums his chin and writes some notes before going to a string of capsules containing Nevermores of various sizes. He smiles evilly as he looks at them.

"And you, I can't wait to show you off. Your beauty will be known, even if only for a short time. I just need to wait for the right moment to-"

A small alarm goes off, the man looks in shock at the warning lights above him, then races to a computer and frantically types on it.

"I haven't had an alert like this in ages, what is going on?"

Screen after screen is brought up on his computer, and the man struggles to see the danger.

"Vale? There's nothing wrong in Vale, I have cameras there. Nothing at Beacon...where is...? Oh no..."

He taps some buttons, and the mans expression gets more and more afraid.

"That's not...that's not...no...no, no, no."

On the computer, a wave of black dots marches towards the city of Vale.

"That's Grimm, but why? They've must've been...oh, those monsters!"

With a roar, he picks up the computer and slams it against the wall. He composes himself though, and quickly raises to another computer, "I have to let him know, it's the only way. Vale can't fall."

At Beacon, Headmaster Night works on some papers when a notification from his computer gets his attention.

"Hmm, unknown sender...better check it." he said before bringing up the email and going wide-eyed, "Vale about to be attacked by Grimm, proof attached. Warn them now?"

Night brought up the image showing the Grimm coming, and rose from his desk and pressed a button on a phone near him, "Squire! Get me the security posts in Vale, the city is in danger!"

In the city, GRYD and MEAL were dining on some cotton candy, each of them enjoying a different flavor.

"Good call on this Leilani, it really hit the spot." said Glyph with a smile to her

"Thanks," she replied, using her cotton candy to hide her blushing face, "our parents used to treat us to cotton candy when we could afford it. It's been a while though."

"All the more reason to enjoy it now," encouraged Yasmine, "and that is what we will do. Right?"

"Right."

"My mom used to give me cotton candy." noted Reyson as he ate his, which got surprised everyone, as he rarely talked about his mother

"What happened?" wondered Macro

Reyson sighed heavily, "My other relatives decided it was a bad idea, as it was clearly "encouraging" my "bad behavior"."

"Wow, they tried to do positive and negative reinforcement on you? That's sad."

"Yeah, yeah it was. Because clearly I turned out so much better for it."

He laughed at his own jest, and the others joined in too. They all went back to eating their candy, and soon they were all finished and waiting for their next destination to be pointed out to them.

"Where to next?" Erin asked

"Not over there..." pointed out Aaron

They all looked to where he was pointing, and across the way was Team PRME. Rita, Maggie, and Primrose were all talking with one another, with Elenor bringing up the rear.

Glyph growled at the mistreatment of Elenor, and made a move to do something about it, but Macro held him back, "Not here man, don't cause a scene. Besides, you know you can't change them."

"Yeah...I just wish that-"

An alarm silenced them, and everyone in the immediate area stopped cold as it sounded. Macro and Glyph got the most worried of the group, while the others just look confused.

"What's that alarm?" asked Diana

"It's the Grimm alarm!" shouted Macro over the noise, "It only sounds when there's a large amount of Grimm coming towards the city."

"And everyone knows it, so now the Grimm will be coming even faster."

"Why?" wondered Leilani

"Because Grimm are attracted to negative emotions, and fear is negative. In trying to protect Vale, they might have just assured its destruction."

A screeching noise stopped the talking, and a voice came over several loudspeakers, "Citizens of Vale, please remain calm and head towards the designated shelters. This is not a drill."

Immediately, people began running around in fear for their lives. GRYD and MEAL though stayed calm as they watched the chaos around them.

"What do we do?" asked Reyson getting his swords out, "Do we fight? Or do we help with evacuation?"

This again surprised them all, to which Reyson countered, "What? I'm not above saving lives, especially when I don't even know where the enemy is!"

Macro got out his E-Tool and put it in machine gun mode, "He's right, we need to help the people out, but we also need to see where the Grimm are coming from. Glyph?"

"I'm on it. Let me get you some extra help though."

He teleported away, and appeared next to Team PRME, who surprisingly hadn't left the area yet. They were shocked by his sudden appearance, "Why haven't you run yet?"

Primrose scoffed, "Because running in this mob would get us killed."

"Good thinking. Macro and the others are going to help with the evacuation while I find out where the Grimm are coming from. Will you help them?"

"You're asking for my help?"

"Yes. Miracles do happen. Consider this a chance to atone for past sins."

"You think you can-"

"We'll do it!" interjected Elenor, to Primrose's horror and Glyph's delight, "What do you need?"

"Go to Macro, he'll guide you, he knows the city well, and where the shelters will be."

"Ok."

Elenor left, followed by Rita, then Maggie, Primrose glared at Glyph before turning and leaving herself.

"Primrose." said Glyph

Primrose turned to look at him, "What?"

"You bail? You abandon your team, or mine? I will find you after this, and you won't like the conversation."

"I look forward to it.

With that, she left, and Glyph teleported away.

Within the city, MEAL, PRME, and most of GRYD helped get people to safety, the city was in a mad rush, but they kept it civil as best they could. Meanwhile, GRYD teleported from one part of the city to the other to try and get a good vantage point on everything. When he couldn't find anything, he looked up, and then teleported as high into the sky as he could.

Once in the air, he spun around, and from his viewpoint, he saw that the Grimm were coming from the northeast side of Vale, a black mob of beasts on the land and in the air. He grimaced as he saw how close they were and teleported away.

Back on the ground, he appeared before the others as they continued to help with the evacuation. Macro was the first to see his return, and waved the others to converge, everyone did so, even PRME.

"How bad?" asked Macro without fear

"Bad." Glyph bad, "Very bad."

"Give us numbers!" demanded Reyson, "20? 50? 100?"

"Hundreds."

"Crap."

"Yeah, they're coming in from the northeast."

"That's where we are now." noted Primrose

"Yeah, so it's a good thing we were evacuating here first."

"So what do we do?" asked Diana, unsure of what the others would say mostly

Silence filled the ranks, until a familiar laugh broke it up. They turned to see Reyson smiling evilly, "I always wanted to die a hero."

"This isn't a joke Reyson!" exclaimed Elenor, "If you go out, you will die more than likely."

"I wasn't joking Elenor. It's like Night said, some of us weren't going to make it to graduation. I might as well be the one to kick it off."

"Not alone you won't." interjected Yasmine, much to Reyson's surprise, "I'm coming too."

"Dying by my side? You really do care."

"Ha, while you're thinking with your "heart", I'm thinking with my mind. If Vale falls? A lot of people will die, including our friends at Beacon, the Grimm won't stop here. If I can help deter that? I will."

"We will." corrected Leilani

Macro laughed, "Count me in."

"And us!" said The Lovers in unison

"Ok, I'm in." said Diana with a playful shrug

"You know I'm game." added Glyph before turning to PRME, "You help with the evacuation, keep these people safe. And if you see anyone from Beacon, tell them to get back to the school, ok?"

"Sure." said Primrose

"But Glyph-" started Elenor near tears

He stepped up to her and put his hands on her shoulders, "This is our last stand, not yours. Stay here, help the people, we'll do all we can to slow the Grimm down."

Elenor nodded in understanding, and watched as the others left for the northeast entrance to the city. As they did, Primrose watched them with narrowing eyes.

Now outside the city, they all readied their weapons and prepared themselves for battle. They ran until they were a good distance away from the city, and from the horde of Grimm and stopped so they could catch their breath.

The horde got closer, the large mass of black bodies mixed with red eyes chilled all the members of GRYD and MEAL. But they steeled themselves, and prepared for battle. To their surprise though, the sound of footsteps broke their concentration. They turned to see PRME racing to join them.

Glyph watched as Primrose stood next to him, her poleax at the ready, "I thought I told you to help with the evacuation."

She scoffed and smiled, "Yeah, and you always told me not to abandon your team. I didn't want that "conversation" you mentioned."

"...thank you Primrose."

"Thank me if we don't die."

"Right."

The Grimm drew closer, close enough that they changed their pace from slow march to fast run so that they could attack GRYD, MEAL, and PRME. Macro took a step forward to get the teams attention, "Do NOT take them on alone, stay in your partner duos or in your teams. If anyone gets separated, get them back. Only together do we have a chance. A whole city is counting on us. They cannot enter the city."

Each one prepared for the battle in their own way, and within seconds, the first wave of Grimm arrived, and they attacked.

Pairing up into their partner duos, the initial wave of Beowolfs, Boarbatusks, and small Nevermores were almost immediately cut down by the teams. Giving them plenty of time to recover and adjust for the second wave. The mass of Grimm let loose Ursa, Griffons, Creeps, and Beringels. Though tougher, the teams again worked together, and defeated their foes.

Thus how it went for the next few minutes. Wave after wave of Grimm attacked the teams, but all were beat back. Yet, despite all the deaths, the mass of Grimm didn't get any smaller to their eyes. After one wave, as they prepared for the next, a loud screeching filled the air, and they all looked up to see a massive Nevermore about to crash into the ground.

They all dodged out of the way just as it landed. But between that and the flap of the Nevermores wings, they got separated into much smaller numbers. Worse still, they had no time to regroup, as the next wave of Grimm met them in action.

Each duo worked together to try and defeat all the Grimm that came to them. Yasmine guided Reyson with her Semblance so his attacks would do the most damage. Macro and Leilani used their skills to pick apart their foes as well. The Lovers blinded or blocked any Grimm that dared harm them, then struck back in kind. Rita and Elenor straight up overwhelmed their foes with strikes, the same went from Maggie and Primrose. For Glyph and Diana, Diana would use her whip to stun a Grimm, and Glyph would finish it off with his Escrima or his shoutgun.

The more time went on though, the more dire the situation got. As good as they were, and as good as their numbers were, the Grimm just didn't stop coming. All of them were taking damage, and it was only because of their partners that the attacks weren't fatal.

After taking a bad hit himself, Glyph surveyed the battlefield and saw just how bad things were getting. What made his fear get even worse was that coming closer to them from the horde were a pair of Goliaths, Death Stalkers, and King Taijitus. He could tell they were going to lose, and worse, they were going to die. As he tried to get up, he heard the many screams of his friends getting hurt again. He closed his eyes, and teleported away.

In a flash, he went to every single one of them and teleported them back into Vale, far enough so that they wouldn't be in an immediate danger from the horde. All were surprised when they appeared in the city, though the reason was clear when they were all safe, and Glyph stood before them breathing heavily.

"I'm...I'm sorry. Goodbye."

He vanished one last time. Much to the horror of his teammates and friends. But Diana and Leilani made to go after him, but were held back by Macro and Yasmine.

"Let me go!" roared Diana

"You won't make it in time! Do you see where we are? We're in the middle of the city!" Macro shouted back, "He put us here so we couldn't follow him."

"We can't leave him!" cried Leilani

"Leilani," said Yasmine sadly, tears in her eyes, "he's trying to save us. Give us a chance to get help and fight another day. We need to honor that."

Both Diana and Leilani were silence by this. And everyone stopped to reflect on what just happen. All except Reyson, who was looking into the sky, "Uh, guys, do you see that?"

In front of the Grimm horde stood Glyph, shaking badly from overuse of his Semblance, but still willing to fight, he laughed as the Grimm stalked slowly towards him, "I'm sorry, did I take your meal? Well, I'm fully of anger right now boys, so feast on this."

Glyph let out a roar of defiance at them, and the Grimm seemed to enjoy it, and raced to him to finish him off. Two Beowolfs reached him first, but were killed instantly by two large pods that landed right in front of Glyph, much to his surprise, and the Grimms.

The pods were large, and made of pure metal. They stood there for a bit, then slowly opened, and out from them came Night and Squire, but not as Glyph had seem them before. Rather, they came out decked in full on armor. Night had lance that was larger than he was, and Squire wielded a broadsword that he theoretically shouldn't have been able to wield.

The two stood to face the horde, who were displeased at the new arrivals. Before attacking though, Night turned to Glyph, "Mr. Masterson, I know a thing or two about last stands, and I never want to see one of my students partake in one. So let us handle this."

"I'm grateful...but just the two of you?" asked Glyph still exhausted

"We're stronger than...we...look..."

He looked into the sky, and another object was heading toward them. It crashed not far away from Night and Squire. It was another pod, it opened, and a man walked out. He was tall, and wore a gray garment with a large cloth coming off the back. His eyes were a lighter shade of grey, while his hair was a dark gray. In his hand was a large staff with a glowing orb at the top.

"Sorry I'm late." said the man

Squire looked at him in disbelief, "Wizzer? You're...here."

"Hey Squire, Night."

"Wiz." said Night with a nod

The man known as Wizzer stepped towards the horde, and raised his staff up, "Chat later boys, we got a city to save...again."

He slammed his staff on to the ground, a blast of energy shot out from the orb and consumed many Grimm, killing them instantly. The Grimm stunned, Night and Squire took advantage and began attacks of their own. Nights lance pierced any Grimm it touched, and when he needed a larger attack, he spit the forward part of his lance, and charged up a massive attack that destroyed many Grimm at once.

Not to be outdone, Squire took out many Grimm himself, slicing and chopping numerous Grimm at once. He even took out one of the Goliaths all on his own. He also picked off many of the Grimm via a rifle that his sword transformed into.

Wizzer used his "magic" and Dust manipulation to overwhelm the Grimm, or break them up into much more manageable groups. As Glyph watched, he couldn't help but think he was a true wizard.

Despite it being three against many, Night, Squire, and Wizzer took out all the Grimm. The few that survived ran away in a panic that Glyph had never seen before.

Once the battle was over, Night immediately went to check on Glyph, "Are you ok?"

Glyph nodded, "I...pushed myself really hard to save the others."

"Noble. Knight-worthy even. Heh, heh.

Glyph laughed along with Night and Squire. Wizzer didn't join them though. Instead, he went into his pod and launched back into the sky. As Night and Squire saw this, Glyph noticed two different emotions on their faces. Squire's was sadness, while Nights was anger.

Now alone, Night helped Glyph up, and they made their way back to Vale.

Hours later, at Beacon, Macro and Glyph sat alone in the cafeteria. Glyph was eating a meal to restore his strength. While Macro just watched to ensure nothing happened to him.

"You're an idiot." he stated to Glyph

"That's the sixth time you said that." replied Glyph with a smile

"And I'll keep saying it! You shouldn't have done that. I thought Reyson was the one with a death wish, not you."

"I wanted to ensure you all got to safety."

"Idiot."

"Seven. Don't feel lucky though."

This got Macro to laugh, "You're lucky that half our teams were just happy you were alive, and that Diana only punched you once. I thought Leilani was going to hit you too! Surprised Reyson didn't though."

"He was jealous of what I did, not angry." revealed Glyph

"Fair enough. You're lucky Night and Squire saved your butt."

"Wizzer."

"Sorry?"

"Wizzer was there too."

"Wait...Taupen Wizzer? The final member of KGHT?"

Glyph shrugged, "I guess, is that bad?"

Macro got an uncertain look on his face, "Surprising. The battle that made KGHT a legend was also said to have torn them apart. The fourth member died a month after the battle. Gargo Lord. Taupen disappeared not long after that. Only Night and Squire stayed in the public eye for whatever reason. This was the first time they've probably seen each other in years.

"Wonder why he came back."

"Guess we'll never know."

In Vale, in a bar, in a booth in the far back sat Night, a glass of water before him. A waiter come up to him, "Sir? Are you sure water is all you need? It seems like you could use something stronger."

Night smiled, "Thank you, but I need faculties for my guest."

"Guest?"

"Him."

He pointed behind the waiter, and Wizzer entered the bar, and made a beeline for Night, and sat across from him in the booth.

"Water please." said Wizzer to the waiter

"Heh, you two must be friends. I'll get you that water."

The waiter left, and the two sat in silence for some time, until Night leaned forward, "Thank you for today."

"I didn't do it for you." replied Wizzer

"I know, but you warned me anyway."

"I knew you could do something about it."

"Right."

Night looked at Wizzer with a glare, but Wizzer shook his head, "I didn't send that horde Night."

"I know, but you did send those modified Grimm to my school."

Wizzer smiled at this, "How long did it take you-"

"All of three seconds. You always were brilliant, a true wizard when it came to Dust and science. You always talked about how killing Grimm wasn't a permanent solution to the Remnant problem. So when you disappeared, and then those changed Grimm appeared? Didn't take long."

"If it helps, I sent them to your school because I knew you could take care of it."

"It doesn't help."

"Right, Kendall Night, Mr. High and Mighty! Leader of KGHT, legend of the Last Stand of Schrienian."

"You were a legend too from that battle."

Wizzer became very angry at this, "That whole thing was a joke Night, and you know it! We weren't legends, we were lucky."

"...I know." Night admitted, much to Wizzer's surprise, "We weren't even supposed to be there. We just...happened on it. If it wasn't for Gargo we wouldn't even have gone."

"The big lummox. That guy loved to fight, I swear he could sense that onslaught of Grimm, and led us right to it. We were never a team when it came to fighting. So why did it all click that day, huh?"

"I don't know, but we did, and we became heroes for it. Or so they claim."

"They didn't care about the dead, or the pain and loss that was caused," said Wizzer bitterly, "all they cared about were the "heroes", made me sick. Do they even know what really happened to us after that?"

"No, the truth they created was easier to take."

"It was for all of us, that's why Gargo did what he did, then he died, and I couldn't handle it. Squire wasn't much better, I see he's still clinging to you. And you...you went back to school. Why?"

"To prevent another us from happening. That's why I went into battle today, for that boy that was there. His team is so much like us, it's scary. I will not have them have our fate."

"How noble. Futile, but noble."

"I could say the same of your endeavors. You really think your way will solve the worlds problems."

"Yes, just as much as you think you can save these kids by teaching them."

Silence again filled the gap, and the waiter brought over the glass of water for Wizzer, who chugged it in seconds.

Night just watched while he did so, "Do you know who sent the horde today?"

"The Heralds. It's the only explanation. And don't play dumb, I know you know they're back."

"I do. Why they do this though? It's too big, too risky."

Wizzer laughed, "Is it? What's more believable? "Grimm destroy Vale!" or, "Hooded group terrorizes city"?"

"Point taken."

"Yeah. Look, I know you don't approve of my methods. And I know that if you had the proof, you would lock me up and throw away the key, right?"

"Yes, I would."

"Good old Night. Anyway, I don't want this world to fall, not to Grimm, and not to people. That's why I'm trying to bridge the gap. And I'm getting close. The modified Grimm were just a byproduct of that, they were never the endgoal. But I promise, if any danger, that I don't cause, comes to Vale or your school, and I catch it, I will let you know. I owe you that. Oh fearless leader."

Night smiled as the joke triggered old memories, "I would appreciate that, Wiz."

The waiter once again came over, and refilled their glasses with water. Wizzer took his and raised it up, "To The Last Stand of Team KGHT. Friends one last time."

"To KGHT." said Night as he raised his glass

The two drank their water, then just looked sadly at the other. For they knew that once they left that booth, they would be enemies once again.

*Credits*

*Season 01 Has Ended! But Season 02 Will Be Just As Impactful! Stay Tuned For GRYD's Return!*


	15. Season 02 - Prologue

GRYD Season 02 Prologue - Where Did It All Go Wrong?

At Beacon Academy, Headmaster Kendall Night stared out the window behind his desk, his face nearly unreadable, his eyes slowly scrolling the grounds of his school. He observed as his students roamed the grounds, peacefully unaware that things around them were going to change. At the thought of this, he hung his head in sadness and shame.

A knocking on the door broke him out of his state, and he turned to the door, "Come in, Glyph."

The door opened, and Glyph entered, he was in his standard attire, complete with his escrima. Like Headmaster Night before him, his expression was unreadable.

"Headmaster, you wanted to see me?" he noted politely.

"I did, I wanted to check on you, it's been a week since the Grimm attack on Vale. Are you all healed?"

"More-or-less, my team still isn't happy with what I did."

Night smirked at this, "I know the feeling. Tell me, was what they saw the full truth?"

This time, Glyph smirked, "No."

"Hmm...but, if you had the choice, you still would've made it?"

"Yes."

"Noble."

"No, loyal."

Night laughed at this, and again turned to the window, "Loyal. What a word."

"SIr?"

"Sorry, musing about things..."

Glyph noticed Night tense up at this sentence, he became that himself, "What aren't you telling me, sir?"

"A lot. Some I won't tell you, some I can't. Some wouldn't do any good anyway."

"What can you tell me?"

"The attack? It was the Heralds of Purity's doing."

"What?" shouted Glyph outraged, "How could they do that? Why would they do that?"

Night shrugged, "I don't know the first answer, the second is likely revenge for losing the shipment. Probably figured out your teams were from Beacon, and decided to strike while you thought we had won a battle against them."

"They would destroy a whole city? Thousands of people? Just to get back at eight kids?"

This statement seemed to really strike Night. His composure crumpled, and again he hung his head in shame and sorrow. Glyph saw this and got worried.

"Sir?" he said softly

"Where did it all go wrong, Glyph? When did it all start to fall apart?"

"I don't understand."

He motioned to the window, "I love looking out this window, I have a great view of the school grounds. I see my students, and the joy on their faces as they rest and relax. Yet, I know that this school, for all its faults, is a sanctuary, and that I'm preparing them to leave it, preparing them to die in a world filled with hate and violence."

"No."

Night turned and smiled wryly, "Oh?"

Glyph shook his head, "No. You're not preparing us to die. You're helping us so that we can live. To be better, be wiser, be more."

"I'd like to think that. And yet...there are terrors out there that would consume us all whole. Cults, monsters, and...even friends."

"What friend scares you that badly?"

"Sorry, that's one of the things I can't tell you. Not yet. Not yet..." Night smiled sadly at Glyph, then turned back to the window, "What are we to do in this world, Glyph? What can we do to make it better?"

"Survive."

"So simple an answer."

"A truthful one though. Every day we survive in Remnant, we have a chance to do good. One day can make all the difference, you taught me that."

"I did?" asked Night with some disbelief.

"Yes, you made my team fight PRME for that mission. We weren't a team before then, we are now."

"Even after your "loyal act"?"

Glyph laughed and nodded his head at the irony, "Yeah, even after that. They hate what I did, but they respect why I did it. Or at least, I think they do."

"Maybe that's enough. Glyph? What do you know about my team? My...former team, KGHT?"

"Only the stories, and many of those came from Macro telling me them."

Night nodded at this, a small smile on his face, "Yes, the stories. The legends. The tales of the Huntsman who banded together to save a town...hmm..."

He turned and looked to Glyph, who was curious as to the statement Night had just made.

"Hold onto those stories, and if your story is told in a similar way, know the importance of the story, know the power it has over people. It's important to...it's...important to..."

"What aren't you telling me sir?" he asked again.

"So much. So much. But for now, all I can give is a warning. Things...are much worse than you think. You must be ready. Your team, must be ready. Your friends, must be ready. Anyone you think can help? They must be ready."

"For what?"

"For what's coming. Can I count on you, Glyph? And your team? And your friends?"

Glyph glared into the eyes of Night, who didn't flinch as he did, he looked for the meaning behind what was going on, why this conversation was taking place, but he found no answers. Rather, he found a plea. A plea for help.

He sighed and nodded, "Yes sir, you can count on us. Whatever happens, you have at least two teams on your side."

Night laughed joyfully at this, "Then I am better off than when we started this conversation. Thank you Glyph."

"My pleasure, headmaster. May I go?"

"Of course, of course. Enjoy your classes today, and don't push yourself too hard if you're not fully healed."

"Thank you sir."

Glyph made to leave, and got as far as the door before Night stepped forward, "Glyph?"

He stopped and turned to Night, "Yes?"

"Make sure...make sure you're good with your team, ok? Don't let them...don't let them judge you for what you did. Don't let the feelings...fester..."

Something about how Night said that seemed to tip Glyph off, "Speaking from experience sir?"

"Yes, sadly, yes. Good day."

Night smiled and returned to looking out his window. Glyph watched him keenly for a few seconds, then slowly exited.

*credits*

GRYD is back! The first chapter of Season 02 arrives soon!


	16. Season 02 - Chapter 1

**GRYD Season 02 - Chapter 1 - Moving On**

Early morning at Beacon Academy. In the room of Team GRYD, Glyph slept comfortably in his bed. Unbeknownst to him, it was almost time for class. Yasmine and Reyson were already gone, but Diana was still getting ready. As she finished, she noticed that Glyph was still sleeping. She made a move to go and nudge him awake, but she held back as she got closer.

An evil smile crept up on her face, "No...let's give him a proper wake-up..."

Carefully, and quietly, she unwound the whip on her arm, and with careful precision she thrust it out and cracked the whip just above Glyph's head. The sound jolted him awake, and he looked around the room as if he was under attack.

"Morning, partner."

His eyes focused in on Diana, who was failing to restrain a laugh. He growled at this, "What the heck, Diana?"

"It's almost time for class, and you still hadn't woken up. So...I took the liberty of giving you a well deserved wake-up call."

With a roll of his eyes Glyph got out of bed. He stood up and glared at Diana before teleporting away. A minute passed, then he reappeared, fully dressed and ready for class.

"There. Happy?" he asked bluntly.

"No." she answered just as bluntly, her smile and laugh vanishing.

"Diana..."

"Don't even! Not after what you pulled."

"You mean saving you?"

"You didn't have to go back! But you did!"

Glyph stood silently and watched her for a few seconds, then he shook his head sadly, "You didn't see it, did you?"

"See what?" she asked confused

"Me fading away?"

"What are you talking about?

He signed heavily, putting his hands on his hips as he had to reveal the truth, "My Semblance has limits, you know this. But what only a few people know is that until I fully materialize in a new spot? Traces of myself...and my Aura...remain where I was."

"So...?"

"Do you think you can leave a part of yourself behind? Willingly?"

The gravity of the statement hit her, "Wait, so you...were being pulled back?"

"Pretty much."

"So...you didn't want to go back, you were being forced back? Because of your Semblance?"

"...pretty much."

This seemed to calm Diana down, "Oh, wow. I didn't know. So if that didn't happen, you would've just ran away with us, right?"

"No."

"What?"

"I would've gone back to them regardless. Given you enough time to get yourselves and any others you found out of Vale."

The calmness that filled Diana fled quickly, and with great speed she made a strike at Glyph with her whip. To her surprise though, he caught the tip of the whip just before it hit his head. Seeing her stunned, he jerked the whip towards him, drawing Diana closer by default. The two were soon only inches away from one another.

But while Diana would've loved to be in this position with Glyph any other time, this was not one of them. The two glared intently at the other. Neither one backing down.

"You're a piece of work." Diana with clear intent.

Glyph scoffed, "That's saying something coming from you."

"Did you really want to die that badly?"

"No! I wanted to make sure YOU didn't die!"

Again Diana was taken back, and Glyph was the first to look away. He then took a step back and sighed.

"When I...came to Beacon. I had one person I would've died for."

"Macro." Diana said with a knowing nod.

"Yeah, but...now I have eight."

Diana began counting on her fingers and mouthing names, "Eight...?"

"Elenor."

"Oh...right. You care for her too...great."

"Get over yourself Diana, I see Elenor as a little sister."

"And how do you see me?" she asked, flirting look returning to her face.

"As someone who apparently thinks whipping me awake in the morning is a good idea."

"I didn't hit you..."

"This time."

"...this time."

The two shared a laugh, but Glyph again shook his head, "Point is. I couldn't let any of you die. So Semblance or not, I would've gone back, even if it only gave you a few seconds extra head start, it would've been worth it to me."

"But not to me! Or them! Your death would've been on our conscience! Do you realize that?! How do you think we would've felt knowing you died because of us? It would've tore us apart. Some more than others."

He smirked smally at this, "What do you want me to say, Diana?"

"That you won't do it again."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because there may be a time when it needs to happen again!"

Diana growled in frustration and began to pace back and forth, occasionally looking back at Glyph for reasons known only to her, "You're hopeless."

"And you're stubborn."

"So what? I like being stubborn! It's gotten me this far in life, despite my mothers' interference!"

"Is that why you're mad at me? I sound like your mother?"

"Right now you do. I hated how she always said so calmly that she might not one day come home, and that "it would be ok" if she didn't. No, it wouldn't be ok! What child wants to go on without her mother?! No matter what I said, she didn't care, just like you are saying now."

Glyph looked at her as she took deep breaths as her anger fumed out of her. Then he walked slowly towards her, until she again was only a few inches away from him.

"I can't speak for your mother. But I can say this. I only did what I did, because I do care. I wanted you to be safe. If my doing that, did more harm than good? I'm sorry. I really am. But I can't have you be mad at me because I am willing to do anything to save you. You need to move on from this. Please."

He dropped his stone expression and looked at her with pleading eyes. Her own expressions melted into one of a sad smile, "Wow, never took you for the puppy dog eyes kind of guy."

"Well, there's still not a lot you know about me. Now please, can we move on?"

She nodded, "Yeah, we can."

"Good, now come on, let's get to class, I'm sure we're late."

With that, he made to leave. He only got as close as the door though when Diana stopped him by grabbing his arm, she looked at him with her signature flirting look before noting, "It's good to hear you verbally say that you care about me."

Glyph smiled, but also grunted, "I think that should've been obvious."

"How so?"

"Because if you didn't notice, in that battle? You were one of the first ones I made sure were safe from the Grimm."

With a shrug he broke her hold and left the room. Diana just stood there in shock for a little bit, then again broke into her classic smile, "Oh yes, you will be mine."

A bell sounded within the halls of Beacon, and classes soon broke out. GRYD and MEAL exited one classroom in deep conversation. As they made their way down a hallway, an attendant tapped Macro on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, Mr. Camof? You have a call waiting for you."

This took Macro aback for a sec, "From who?"

The attendant shook their head, "I do not know, I was told to come get you and escort you to the private area so you can take it."

Macro looked to the others, who nodded in order to say it was ok. He turned back to the attendant, "Lead the way."

With a bow, the two went away from the others, they soon entered a small room with a few monitors set up. The attendant guided Macro to one, where a screen had a bar flashing that said "call waiting".

Once Macro was situated, the attendant bowed to him, "I'll leave you to your call."

"Thank you."

He waited as the attendant left and shut the door, only then did Macro turn on the call. The screen changed, and an older man was looking at him. His hair was cut very similarly to Macro's, but his face was one of a man much more experienced, including having a few scars on it. The man also had a military-style outfit on.

Macro couldn't help but smile at seeing the man, "Hey dad."

Gunner smiled back, "Hello, son."

"I wasn't expect a call from you, why not just reach me on my cell?"

"I needed to be sure we were on a secure line, I couldn't do that via the cells, but from a computer? I know how to work some magic to make sure we're not interrupted or listened on. Speaking of which, are you clear on your end?"

Macro held up a finger to signal his father for a moment. He leaned back in his chair, then pulled back his E-Tool and flung it at the crease in the door. It became perfectly wedged in it, ensuring it couldn't open.

"We are clear, sir."

With a laugh, Gunner nodded in a very pleased well, "Glad to see your skills are just sharp as when you arrived."

"Thank you, now, what's going on? Why call me like this?"

"Is it not obvious?"

"The Heralds?"

"Among other things. Night tell you about the attack?"

"No, but he told Glyph, who told us."

Gunner was content with this response, "Good, I made sure that Night would tell you, you deserved to know. How is Glyph?"

"Fully healed, more-or-less."

"Were you mad at what he did?"

Macro thought about his answer for a bit, "At first. I know he didn't fully have a choice in the matter, but I know he would've done it regardless. You would've been proud of him. If he had gone..."

"It would've been a soldiers death. That it would have. I've always admired your loyalty to Glyph, son. Even after what happened at Signal. I'm glad to see that hasn't wavered either."

He gave a salute to his son, who returned the gesture, "Thanks, dad. But seriously, what's going on?"

"Activity, and not the good kind."

"The Heralds?"

"In a way. After the Grimm attack I thought that they would be more active. Use it as cover for something big, it was just the opposite. It's been two weeks since the attack, and no noticeable movement from them. No stolen shipments, no overt Faunus attacks or kidnappings, nothing."

"Just like you taught me dad, the worst kind of enemy is a patient one."

"Indeed. But that's not all, the attack on Vale has triggered a string of Grimm attacks all over Remnant, no major catastrophes thankfully, but our luck's bound to run out. And bandits seemed to have picked up on this. They're waiting after we help areas then come in virtually unopposed and take what they can before being chased off."

This made Macro very angry, "Opportunistic cretins."

Gunner waved him down, "Calm yourself son, save your anger for when it's needed. Not that I don't agree with that emotion. It's hard enough keep everyone safe from killer attacks to then have to fear thieves.

The two went into their thoughts, the world seemed to be spiraling out of control, and despite their efforts, it wasn't getting better.

Gunner was the first to shake himself out of his funk, "Macro, I'm telling you this report because I know you and your friends are likely going to be seeing and dealing with things in the upcoming months, and I want you in the loop. It's because of you that we caught one of the Heralds, and were able to stop the Grimm attack."

"With some help from Team KGHT." added Macro

He laughed nervously, "Yeah...they helped too. Point is, things aren't going to get better for a while. Head on a swivel son, I'll keep you apprised of anything I know, and I hope you'll do the same."

Macro smiled at the request, "Like I wouldn't report to my superior officer?"

"You would, but I'm also your father, and I know you want to do what's best even if I don't approve at times."

"Maybe, but this is much bigger than anything we've done before. I wouldn't risk keeping you in the dark if I'm able to help it."

"Very wise son, thank you."

With a nod, Macro made to begin the end of the call, but a worried expression crept onto his face, "Dad, um, how is the interrogation going with that Herald? He...still in Atlas?"

This made Gunner displeased, Macro could sense the tone and intent of his voice shift, "Yes, we're not getting far though to be honest. Orchid...is doing her best, but despite her...talents...he's holding strong. If he breaks, I'll tell you."

"Thank you...um...dad...you remember me mentioning Diana before, right?"

"Oh yeah, the dancer who won't stop flirting with Glyph?" he asked with a laugh

"Yeah, that's her...um...she's...she's Orchid's daughter."

With this reveal Gunner froze, absolute shock filled his face, he then leaned in, "When did you find this out?"

"When we captured the Herald."

"That was almost a month ago! Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because I didn't think I needed to! I reconned the situation, she was surprised I knew her mothers' name. After what happened to Glyph, both times, she seemed to have forgotten, and I wanted to make sure I didn't bring it up in a cell chat...never know who's listening...right?"

Though still displeased, Gunner nodded, "Right. So she doesn't know I'm your father?"

Macro shook his head, "She's know my fathers' name is Gunner, it's been said around her multiple times, but I don't think she's connected the dots for one reason or another."

"Hmph, maybe Orchid never told her my name. She is notorious for her "need-to-know" mentality. It's possible her hatred of me made it so my name was never brought up."

"That's the only thing I can think of."

"...son, do you think this'll affect her when she finds out?"

"It was her uncle, I expect her to be affected."

"No, I mean...do you think her hostile? Will she blow up at this?"

Macro looked away at the screen, the truth seemed both clear, and uncertain, after a few more moments he shrugged, "You taught me never to assume when I don't have all the facts. I've seen Diana get angry, but rarely ever mention family, if at all. I'll be careful should the topic be brought up. If anything...I'll just make sure Glyph is nearby, he'll get me to safety should it come to that."

Gunner's serious disposition melted away with a hearty laugh, "Well played. Look, I have to go, thank you for telling me this."

He gave a small bow to his father, "Likewise to you, dad. Keep me in the loop."

"Same to you. Dismissed."

The call ended, and Macro sighed heavily, but then composed himself, retrieved his E-Tool and left.

Far away, in the land of Atlas, in an interrogation room, a man was chained to a chair and table. He was not disturbed by this however, he was actually very calm. This didn't change when a door opened nearby and a woman entered.

The man turned to the woman, she was very tall, and had an official military garb on. Her hair was short, and cut properly, and was a vivid shade of purple. Her eyes had a slightly darker shade of purple, which made her look very intimidating. She glared at the man as went to the opposite side of the table.

"Are we going to talk today?" asked the woman.

The man gave a hesitant smile, "If I do, I lose the pleasure of your company, Orchid. Don't know if I want that."

His smile grew as he saw that the statement annoyed her, but it quickly left as she banged her fist on the table, making him jump back a bit.

"You think I'm in the mood for jokes? You've been here nearly three weeks, and yet for some reason you're not willing to talk. What did the Heralds do to you to make you last this long? Especially against me? You could barely look at me when we first met, now you're throwing jokes? That must be some cult."

"Hmph. Cult? A typical stereotype for people whose beliefs are "outrageous" or "dangerous"..."

"Or wrong! The Faunus do not deserve to be wiped out, not now, not ever."

The man grunted in disappointment, "How the corruption has spread."

Orchid again got mad, but this time reached over the table and grabbed him by the collar and pulled him close, "Who are the Heralds to say that the Faunus aren't the rightful inheritors of this world? Were you there at the beginning when we were born? I don't do faith, or beliefs, I know what is true and fact. And here are the facts. One, the Faunus are sentient. Two, they have the same emotions that we do. Three, and this is the important one, they're willing to sacrifice their lives for ones they love, which makes them just as worthy to be alive as us. Well...some of us."

She threw him back to his original position, as he rubbed his neck to get the feeling back in it, Orchid stood and paced the room, but didn't take her eyes off of him, "It's bad enough you're attacking Faunus all over, but you've now targeted twice two Faunus who are friends with my daughter! Not to mention that the Grimm attack put my daughter at risk as well! That puts you right at the top of my "to do" list. You don't come after my family."

The man rolled his eyes and scoffed loudly, "Take your personal beef and shove it, we didn't know your daughter was part of it until much later. We didn't even notice her in the first attack, only when I got caught did they look into things, or so I would imagine given the attack. Know your enemy, and all that."

"You think that saves you? That just makes it worse! I might have given you a pass for the first attack and the train, but your group made a conscious effort to try and get revenge on my Diana, and for that, you will all suffer my wrath. Now TALK!"

Her voiced boomed throughout the room, and the man was visibly shaken by this. His breathing increased, and it took him a while to compose himself. Before he could speak though, a knock came at the door.

"Enter." said Orchid.

An attaché came into the room, holding a small tray that had a small plate of food and a glass of water. Orchid was displeased at this, but the man's eyes flashed towards it.

"Apologies, ma'am, but he has to eat."

"Fine, give it to him."

The attaché put the tray in front of the man, then left. The man brought the tray closer to him, then tapped glass of water. A note rang out from it. He then used his finger to circle the top of the glass. An even deeper note rang out, and he smiled.

Orchid became curious at this, "I've seen you do that before, the notes, the glass, you've never smiled before. Why now?"

"You'd be surprised what a glass can tell you," answered the man, smile still on his face, "it can tell you about the purity of the glass itself, how it was made, and at times, what's in it."

"Oh?"

"Yes. For example, it can be used to tell when something foreign is in the glass, like...a poison."

"You think I'd poison you to get answers? Even I have limits."

The man nodded, then drank the entire glass of water. This made Orchid even more confused. Once done, the man let out a noise of satisfaction, "Oh Orchid, I know poison isn't your thing. I was never afraid of that. Rather, I waiting for my...cult...to poison my drink."

Orchid went into shock at this statement, and the man began to laugh, it lasted for a few second before he started to hack and cough heavily. He began to cough up blood, and eventually keeled over on the very table he sat on.

The room went quiet, and Orchid went from shock, to anger, to rage, with bared teeth she turned to the door, "Guards!"

Two soldiers entered the room, their eyes immediately went to the dead man, but were snapped to attention by Orchid, who was still furious "Lock down the compound, we have a traitor in our midst."

A while later, at Beacon, Reyson laid against one of the support structures of the Academy, he was resting, allowing the emptiness and openness of the area to consume him. Though he wouldn't admit it, he wanted to try and calm the bloodlust within him, and this was one of the few ways he could he get that to happen to an extent.

As he rested, his phone went off, he groaned angrily and didn't look at the screen when he answered it, "Hello?"

"Hello cousin." said a female voice.

Reyson jolted upright, "Arianna?"

"Hello."

"What do you want?"

"Is that any way to treat family?"

"...do you really want me to answer that?"

"Fair enough. So, what are you up to?"

"I was resting before you called. Trying to clear my head."

She laughed at this, "Did it work?"

"No, especially not when you called."

"Must you be so hurtful to me?"

"Must you insult my intelligence? Or are you honestly going to try and tell me that your mother had nothing to do with this call?

He waited for Arianna's response, a smile grew on his face when Arianna didn't respond right away, which was followed by a nod.

Instead of adding on insult to injury, he waited for her to reply, and with a heavy sigh she did that, "She did tell me to call..."

"Ha!"

"BUT! That was a while ago. Months in fact. She said I should contact you about a week after she came to Beacon, I didn't think it was wise, so I refused, she didn't seem to mind."

"Shocking no one."

"Pretty much. But, after what I've heard the last few weeks about what happened with you in Beacon and at Vale...I decided to call."

Reyson grew irritated, "What do you want, Arianna?"

"I want to talk with my cousin!"

"Well you're talking with me now, congrats. Bye."

"Reyson!" she shouted through the phone, making him recoil at the loudness of her voice, "I'm serious, I want to talk with you, have a real conversation, like we used to. Before everything got out of hand."

"That was a long time ago Arianna."

"You call five years a long time?"

"You try being persecuted and near brainwashed for nearly five years and not consider it a long time."

"...fair enough. But I'm serious. I want to talk with you, and not over the phone, in person."

"I'm not coming home!"

"I know. So, I am offering to come to Vale. I am going to be getting a break at my school soon...and I want to spend some of my time there, and see you. If I come, will you meet me?"

Reyson lowered the phone at the request, he looked out at the grounds, not sure of what to make of it. He had always liked Arianna, and had fun with the scavenger hunts that they used to do together. But he also knew that her mother, Swann, couldn't be trusted. Would she send her daughter on a mission to try and get to him? He couldn't deny the possibility. And yet...

"if you try anything...anything at all? It won't go well for you." Reyson stated with clear intent.

"I understand. Do you know if you'll have a day during my break to go to Vale?" she asked with clear happiness.

"It depends on Headmaster Night. I'll...keep you posted. Go ahead and uh, send me the dates you're going to be off. Ok?"

"Ok. You'll have them soon."

"Alright."

A pause filled the air, both waiting for the next to make a move.

Arianna broke the silence, "Reyson? I'm glad you're giving met this chance."

"Don't blow it. Goodbye Arianna."

Before she could respond, Reyson ended the call and tossed the phone in front of him. His face became mixed with emotions. Anger, fear, uncertainty, longing, he couldn't pick which one he was truly feeling. It was in that confusion that his bloodlust boiled once again, and his whole body began to shake with the desire to kill. He did his best to contain it, and was glad he was so high up so that no one would get hurt.

In a dark room, somewhere in Remnant, people in cloaked garb filed in and formed a circle, it was the Heralds of purity.

"Is it done?" asked a deep voiced man

"Yes," answered a woman, "we have confirmation, he is dead."

"And Orchid? Did she learn anything?"

"No, he held out. In fact, our sources say he happily took the poison, in order to not betray our cause."

"Indeed? To honor him. A moment of silence."

Every Herald in the room bowed their heads in respect for their fallen brother. After a while passed, they raised their heads once more.

"We will not forget you, brother," said the deep voiced man.

"Never." rang out the rest.

"We must move on though. Are preparations being made for our next move?"

"Yes," stated the woman from before, "as you requested, we had all operatives go dark, just in case. It hasn't been easy...there has been...interference."

"Gunner..." said the man with distaste.

"Yes, as well as Night. He seems on to us too. We'll have to be careful, but for now, no other operatives have been discovered, or captured. When you deem it time, we will be ready to move on all fronts."

"Good, we cannot lose the opportunity given to us. The Grimm attack was a means to an end, nothing more. And though our plan failed in one way, it revealed to us that there are even more threats in the world that just those children. We must be prepared for all of them, and when the work is done, and everything comes to the fruition that we have envisioned, then, and only then, will the world of Remant be what it was truly meant to be. A land of purity. A land of humans. No Grimm, no Faunus, no more abominations."

A murmur of contentment rang out through the group. The man nodded in acknowledgement of this.

"Yes! You should rejoice! We have worked hard to maintain our goal, and though we may be far away from it in one essence, we are drawing ever close. We'll start back up soon, and make even greater strides. Our plans will succeed, interference or not. The Heralds of Purity have hands in every government, on every landmass that humans roam. We are everywhere."

"We are everywhere..." the group echoed.

"They will not see us coming, and if they do, they won't be prepared for our grand plan. Now go! Return to your posts, and be ready, we must remain silent for a little while longer, but soon...we will begin again."

With a bow, the majority of the group left, save for two. The man who spoke, and the woman who conversed earlier. Once they were gone, he dropped his hood, revealing a middle-aged blonde haired man. The woman dropped her hood as well, showing that she was of similar hair color, as well as age.

"I think that went well Rowan." said the woman

"Thank you Lianna," Rowan replied with an appreciative nod, "but I could tell they weren't pleased with our retreat."

Lianna looked at him with sympathy, "It couldn't be helped. Those kids lived, KGHT reformed to help them and save the city! To do our plans with that much attention would've been an easy way for us to get outed."

Rowan sighed, "I know. But I can't help but be frustrated too. All this time, effort, planning, and for what? To be outdone by children who aren't fully Huntsman or Huntresses?

"If you recall...we were quite capable in our school days."

"That we were."

The two smiled at each other and laughed as they reminisced. Lianna though grew serious quickly, "What are we going to do about them? We can't have them interfering anymore. But we can't do another Grimm attack, especially with KGHT potentially back."

Rowan thought for a few moments about this, "There are...subtler ways, but they are more risky."

"Not if we do them right."

"Right. Come, let us lay plans for a more...personal...touch."

They again raised their hoods, and then exited the room.

Later in the day, Glyph, Yasmine, and Diana chatted in their room as they did homework. A knock came on the door and they all turned to it.

Glyph got up first, "I'll get it."

"Thanks." said Diana and Yasmine in unison, which got a small laugh after they noticed what they did.

As he opened the door, he was greeted by Leilani, who was very calm as she looked at Glyph, "Hey."

"Hey yourself. You know, you are friends with this team, you don't have to knock every time you come by, you can just come in."

"I...appreciate that, but, I'd rather be welcomed in and know I wasn't...disturbing anything."

"Appreciated. So, whom do you need to talk to Leilani?"

At the sound of her name being mentioned, Diana's head perked up and looked towards the door. Yasmine did the same, but she also reached behind her back.

"To you, actually." said Leilani, who was still calm, but behind her back, her hands were shaking.

Glyph smiled, "Oh, what can I help you with?"

"Well..we never got to finish that...conversation we had before..."

"Right, "to be continued"."

"Right..."

They shared a laugh, this really got Diana's attention, and she laid some of her books down to get up, but as she tried to, one of Yasmine's drones greeted her. When she tried to get around it, another showed up. As Diana span around she saw she was surrounded by the drones. She quickly looked to Yasmine, who wagged her finger in a way Diana was very familiar with.

"Sorry, not this time." Yasmine said with a smile

Back at the doorway, Glyph stood there looking kindly at Leilani, who was starting to fidget again as she got nervous.

"Leilani..." he said softly

"...oh, uh, yeah?" she said snapping back to.

"What were you going to ask me?"

"Oh...uh..."

Leilani closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then looked back at Glyph with as much confidence as she could project.

"The next time we go to Vale, want to get some ice cream? Together?"

Glyph smiled knowingly, but felt the urge to ask something, "Are you asking me out, Leilani?"

"...yes."

"...then I'd be happy to."

This took her aback, "Really?"

"Yeah, really."

"Uh, great, thank you. Um...we'll uh, work something out when we know when we're going there next...cool?"

"Cool."

Leilani really began to fidget, but in a more pleasant way, Glyph held back a laugh. She composed herself and bowed slightly to him, "I'll just...see you later, Glyph."

"I look forward to it."

She again bowed her head and slowly walked down the hallway. Glyph watched her for a bit then closed the door. When Leilani heard the door close she bounced around in joy, pumping her arms in the air and doing small screams at what she had finally done. After a while she calmed down and skipped down the hallway.

Back in the room of GRYD, Glyph laughed as he turned around, but when he did, he saw that Diana was not only mad, but was still surrounded by drones. All the while, Yasmine was looking quite happily at Glyph.

Glyph however was perplexed, "What the heck happened?"

Yasmine smiled widely, "Looking out for my sister."

"Ah, Diana tried to interrupt again?"

"Pretty much."

To both Yasmine and Diana's surprise, Glyph did a very Diana-like finger wag at her, "That wasn't very nice."

Diana's eyes bulged at this, while Yasmine bowled over in laughter. Diana however wasn't amused, "Fine! Whatever! It's over! WILL YOU GET YOUR PETS AWAY FROM ME!?"

Still laughing, Yasmine called down her drones. Now free, Diana plopped herself angrily on her bed, and buried herself in her books. Glyph sat back on his bed too, and also continued his homework. Yasmine followed suit as well.

A minute passed, and Diana couldn't help but gaze back over at Glyph numerous times, "So...what did Leilani want?"

Yasmine snorted, which caught them all offguard, even herself, "Sorry."

Glyph shook his head at both of them, "Wow, and, I think you know."

"She...asked you out?" she tried to ask as calmly as she could

"She did."

"And...?"

"And what?"

"Did you say 'yes'?"

Glyph rolled his eyes, "Does it matter?"

This fired up Diana, "You know darn well it does!"

Yasmine went back into a laughing state, but more quietly as she wanted to hear what would happen next.

Glyph lowered his book and looked directly at Diana, who was still fuming, "Yes, I did."

Diana's expression went to one of stone, "Nice, where are you to going on your "date"?"

At this Glyph's laughter filled up the room, both Diana and Yasmine were surprised at this response, he never had laughed this heartily before.

"What's so funny?" asked Yasmine

"Isn't it obvious? She's trying to "interrupt" again. But on a grander scale. Not on your life Diana."

"Hmph." grunted Diana before going back to her book.

Yasmine laughed softly at this, then turned to Glyph and gave a bow of appreciation. To which Glyph returned the gesture before both returning to their studies.

The next morning, when the sun was barely rising into the sky, and no one was on the grounds of Beacon Academy. Yet, a slight humming sound permeated the area. It was The Lovers, Aaron and Erin, who were gladly walking the area together, happy to be in each others' company.

Their humming continued as they wandered the grounds, they didn't care if they were heard, or looked on weirdly had someone been there. For them, the joy was just being next to the other. As their song started to wind down, Aaron spun Erin around in a dancing move, then pulled her in close once more. The two smiled at each other lovingly.

"We must do this more often," Aaron said in his usual tone.

"Yes, we should. It's surprising that we haven't done it before." Erin said thinking about it.

"Not really."

"Oh?"

"Think about it. Things have been...tense, unsettling even. Even on our more relaxing days things never seemed to line up just right for us to do things like this. But now...we have! And we shall not forget the experience!

Erin giggled at his monologue, "You always have a way with words."

Aaron bowed to her, "It is a gift."

After a short laugh, they locked arms again and walked along the grounds. The silence this time was absolute, which made Erin's expression grow sad, "Aaron?"

"Yes darling?" he asked turning to her

"Do you...do you think what's happened to us...all of us...was fate?"

"Hmm, I won't lie, I have pondered such things. For while a singular incident may be explainable within the grand scheme of our world, several, are not."

"So why does fate have it out for us? For GRYD, and for MEAL?"

"I do not know."

"Does it...scare you?"

"You know it does."

"Do I?"

She stopped and tugged his arm so that he faced her fully, Erin looked at him with an odd expression, to which he returned the look, "I'm an open book my dear, if you have a question, ask it."

"Are you scared? Cause you don't show it. You never do."

Aaron filled the air with his pompous-style laughter, which made Erin smile a bit, though he eventually stopped and looked at her, "Oh Erin, we all have roles that we must play. I may play the confident, elegant, and...pompous man, but it does not mean I don't have the other feelings. I've just gotten used to my part in all this."

"I know you call yourself an actor, but you don't have to be that way all the time. Weren't you the one who encouraged me to break my bonds?"

"I was. But that's different. You were being forced into a role by your family. I, on the other hand, became a role to help my family. I'm not betraying who I am, I'm just amplifying it a bit."

"A bit?" she asked teasingly.

"Ok, maybe a lot, but it's fun!" he said with a laugh, but then he got closer to her, "But rest assured, no matter how I convey myself in front of the others, I never act when I'm alone with you. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know."

The two smiled, and then they kissed. Once done, they interlocked their arms and continued their stroll. The silence again enveloped them, and again, Erin grew weary.

"Aaron?"

"Yes?"

"Are you afraid of what's coming next?"

"Yes, we're not out of this by a longshot. But I do know one thing."

"What's that?"

"No matter what comes, I'm going to protect you, with all I have. That's the promise I made to you once, and that's the promise I'm keeping above all others."

This seemed to calm her worry, and she laid her head on his shoulder as they continued their walk.

In the room of Team PRME, early in the morning, Primrose was writing in a journal. Her eyes flared as she continued to write stuff down. In the beds adjacent to her were the rest of her team. During a pause in her writing she surveyed them all, but then returned to her writing.

Minutes passed, and a groan caught Primrose's ears, she turned to see her partner, Maggie Mae, rising up to embrace the day. She stretched out a bit before turning and seeing Primrose looking at her, "Morning, Primrose."

Primrose nodded then turned back to her journal, "Morning Mags."

Maggie rolled her eyes, "Must you call me that? You know I hate that nickname of yours."

"That's why I only call you it in private."

Upon hearing this, Maggie reflected on the statement, and nodded contently, "I guess you do, thanks."

"No problem."

With that, Maggie, fully got out of bed, and began to ready herself for the day. As she combed her hair, she again turned to Primrose, who was still writing intensely in her journal. Curious, Maggie got up and went to her bed, and leaned in to see what she was writing.

Her eyes went wide as she saw the pages, on it was a "To-Do" list, and much of it was hateful and harmful things aimed at GRYD and MEAL, with the majority being focused on Glyph and Macro.

"Primrose..." Maggie said concerned

Primrose scoffed at her concern, "It's not nice to ready over someone's shoulder."

"I wouldn't have to if I wasn't concerned that your obsession was continuing through your writings! Seriously, how many pages have you dedicated to writing about your frustrations with Glyph and Macro?"

"...I lost count."

"Exactly! You let them get to you! You let them get into your head so much that you're up before everyone else writing about how much you hate them! You've been doing that since Signal, and Beacon has only made it worse! You've got to let this go."

Rage filled Primrose's eyes as she turned to Maggie, "Why? Why should I? It's all justified! You know what we went through at Signal! You, me, and Rita were the top females in our class, and top 5 in the class overall. But all anyone could talk about was Macro and Glyph. The prized students. The 2nd generation soldier and the silent warrior. Gag."

"I know you wanted to be #1, or, you know, #2, because I would've been #1..."

She made a funny expression to see if it got through, sure enough, Primrose laughed softly and shook her head, "You wish."

Maggie nodded, "Yeah, I do, and I would've been fine being your #2. But it didn't happen. And I know it doesn't mean anything, but what we did was more impressive than them! Macro had training from his father before he made it to Signal. He was already a wizard what...uh...what does he call it? That shovel thing?"

"Does it look like I care?"

"Good point. Anyway, he had training. And when Glyph came along? That was him passing part of that training to him. Admittedly...he did learn everything pretty fast, but that Semblance was his trump card against everyone, so it likely wouldn't have mattered either way. But us? You, me, Rita? We had to earn our rank, and we did it. #3-#5 was us, all the way. They can't take that from us."

This didn't alleviate Primrose's feelings, it just made them stronger, "Maybe, but what about here? They're on separate teams, with fools and misfits, and Faunus! Yet they still are outshining us! We barely even get mentioned in helping save Vale from that Grimm attack, when it was us who came in despite them telling us to stay back! Where's our praise and adulation? Oh, a "thank you" from Night? Right, that makes it all worth it. And what's worse? I'm starting to lose faith in Rita's friendship."

She made a motion to Rita, who was still asleep, Maggie looked at her sadly at the mention of her name, "She has been acting differently recently."

"Exactly! At first, I thought it was because of Elenor, partners and all that. But then I saw her and Elenor talking to Glyph one day in the hallway, and she was laughing with him! Are you kidding me?"

She growled and scribbled once more in her notebook. Maggie looked at her sadly for a while, then put her hand on Primrose's wrist, stopping her from writing, "Look at me."

Primrose resisted at first, but then did look at Maggie, "I can't speak for Rita, but I can speak for me. I have been your friend since childhood. We freaked when our parents allowed us to go to Signal. I was your best friend then, and I was with you 100% through those years. We made sure that we found each other in the forest when we came to Beacon so that we could be partners. My loyalty to you is absolute, it always has been, and it always will be. You want to go to war with GRYD and MEAL? I'm in, I'll back whatever play you make, because I am your friend, and I care for you deeply. But win or lose, this journal stuff? It needs to stop. Please."

Her eyes filled up with various emotions, all of which Primrose could read as she looked into them. Primrose closed the journal, and put it on her nearby endtable before focusing back on Maggie, "Deal. Thank you..."

Maggie smiled and nodded, then made her way back to her bed.

"...Mags."

The two looked at each other and laughed, then started getting ready for the day. Unbeknownst to them, in the fourth bed in the room, Elenor was awake, and she heard every word of their conversation. Her face was filled with uncertainty and fear as she tried to figure out what to do.

At breakfast, Leilani was enjoying her meal, and Yasmine soon joined her, "Hey Leilani."

"Hey sis," Leliani responded with a smile at her sisters appearance, she then looked at her food tray, which was filled with various foods, including eggs, "I've been meaning to ask you, do these eggs remind you of mom's?"

Yasmine looked at her own tray, which also had eggs, she thought about it for a bit, "Hmm, now that you mention it, they kind of do."

"Mom's are better of course, but...they are the only good thing she can make."

The two snickered as they thought about it, Yasmine couldn't help but shake her head, "Oh mother, you try so hard...and yet burn so much food."

"Thank goodness for dad, right?"

"Oh yes, we'd be a lot thinner without him."

"No we wouldn't."

"Oh?"

"Think about it sis, even if dad was worse than mom, and she cooked all our food, we wouldn't have been hungry. Because..."

"She would've made us eat it anyway." they said in unison, then burst out laughing.

This continued for a while, then Yasmine got a calm expression as she again looked at her sister, "How long has it been since we talked about them? Just you and me?"

Leilani strummed her rabbit ears as she thought about it, "First night? No! First day, the luggage thing. Mom messing with your system."

"That long huh? Been a while."

"Yeah. I miss them."

"I do too. To be honest, I was expecting a letter from them by now."

"That's probably dad, wanting us to grow beyond what we know. He was so supportive of us coming here instead of staying in Minstrel."

"That he was. He...didn't like us working in shop, not at first anyway."

Leilani put on a very serious expression, and folded her arms to add to the effect, then said in a deep voice "Children should be children, not worrying about adult matters."

Yasmine laughed and clapped at the expression, "Very good, been practicing that?"

"Off and on. Couldn't help it sometimes."

"The sad part is that...we never could be children, not after a while. When we could tell how things were in our world. The shop and house were our only sanctuary."

She grew sad at this, Leilani grabbed her hand in support, "We made it through, and look where we are now? We're at Beacon, and have true friends. Mom and dad would be happy."

"That they would, especially of you Leilani...finally asking Glyph out."

Leilani froze for a sec, and her eyes went wide, "He told you?"

Yasmine laughed at her sisters reaction, "He did, but once I heard you were at the door, I knew you were going to try again. You should've seen Diana's reaction."

"She was in the room too? Why didn't she interfere?"

"She was busy."

"With what?"

"Fearing my drones."

Leilani looked at Yasmine confused, who in return just smiled, "I told you I would distract her, so I did. And...it looks like you made the most of it. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks sis, I still can't believe I did it, and that he said 'yes'."

"Maybe he likes you as much as you like him."

"I wish."

"Oh Leilani...moving on, where will you go on your date?"

"Nothing special, just ice cream, walk around Vale. Talk."

"How simple. I approve."

"With Glyph, isn't that the only option?" she said with a smirk

"Very true. I hope Night gives us a day off soon so you can enjoy your date. You deserve it."

"Thanks sis."

With a smile and a nod, Yasmine went to eating her food. Leilani continued to look at her sister with appreciation before returning to her meal.

In a lab, Wizzer looked at his experiments with glee. There were more Grimm than ever before, and what's more, just about every single one of them looked different than their original counterparts. Wizzer went from one to another, reading text on computers to see how his experiments were coming along.

As he continued on, one in particular got his attention, it was a Nevermore, but one that was all white. Despite the very large container, the Nevermore seemed particularly trapped in it. The Grimm tried to wriggle free, but couldn't.

Wizzer saw the struggle and looked at it with sympathy,

"I know it's a tight fit, I still can't believe I got you in there without a scratch. Fear not though, you won't be contained much longer. You're going to be a star in my plan. Won't be long, after all...soon..."

He patted the container and walked away, and went over to a chalkboard of sorts. On it were diagrams of humans, Faunus, and Grimm. Wizzer looked at it with deep contemplation, "...I'll be moving on...to phase two."

*credits*


	17. Season 02 - Chapter 2

**GRYD Season 02 Chapter 02 - Tracking Threats**

Daytime at Beacon Academy. In a classroom, the various students awaited their professor. In the room was Team GRYD, MEAL, PRME, and more. The doors to the classroom soon suddenly flew open, and Professor Lochen Target walked in.

"Morning class," he said, though with an odd tone

"Morning Professor," the class answered back

"Sorry for being late, but hey, who said the students could only use that excuse?"

He gave a raucous laugh, some of the other students joined in, while others just smiled and shook their heads at their childlike teacher. Macro though focused on Lochen himself, and noticed that his limp was particularly bad today. He began to ponder why this was when Lochen span around and clapped his hands together to get their attention.

"Pop quiz, class. What attracts Grimm?"

"Negativity." said Yasmine without a moments ' pause, "Any kind of strong negative emotion can be a lure to Grimm."

"Precisely." said Lochen with a wry smile, "Unfortunately for us, the last few weeks have been full of negativity in the surrounding areas. In a way, all of Vale has been under a very negative wave."

With a grunt, he made his way to the blackboard, then put up a map of Vale, it was very detailed.

"I uh...borrowed this from Professor Tod, think she'll mind?"

He gave a smile to the class, indicating that he didn't ask to "borrow" it, much of the class laughed at this.

"I didn't think so either. Anyway, ever since the Grimm attack on Vale, various Huntsman and Huntresses have been working around the clock to try and beat back any large enough groups of Grimm that could cause trouble. We've even called in...less reputable people to help, but you didn't hear that from me."

Glyph and Macro gave each other worried looks, wondering just how back things were.

"Regardless, things aren't well in Vale, and a call for help has gone out, and Headmaster Night, with my endorsement, has decided to lend aid."

"We're going into the field?" asked Primrose, a somewhat eager expression on her face.

"Yes, Ms. Madonna, you are. We've been getting reports of recent uprisings of Grimm groups, you are going to be dispatched to find them and take them out before they reach their targets."

This got Macro's attention ,"Targets?"

"Yes, unfortunately, the groups of Grimm are drawing close to populated areas. Mainly small villages and towns who don't have a Huntsman or Huntress to help. Night considers this a priority to help them above all others. I agree."

Lochen stepped back in front of his desk, looking at the entire classroom, "I know some of you have fought Grimm in the field on previous missions or class assignments, or...other things. But this is different. Most of you haven't had a mission to take out Grimm, usually because it's considered too dangerous for students. We don't have the luxury to hold you back now. However, that doesn't mean you're going alone. You're going in teams of two. This will give you more of an advantage against a potential numbers game. Do not separate from your groups for any reason. We're sending eight of you out for each mission, we expect all eight to return."

The class went silent at this, Lochen was rarely this serious, so they knew that this mission was the real deal. Lochen sensed this and nodded in appreciation, "Glad you're taking this seriously. Now I made a list of who's with who. I'll be giving it to you shortly. In the meantime, head back to your rooms and prepare, you'll be leaving in a few hours. Class dismissed."

He stared at them for a while, when no one moved he gave them a gesture to move out, and they all did so. The students waited until they were outside of earshot of him before talking with one another. GRYD and MEAL though knew better, and silently went to their rooms, only sharing glances as they did.

The students slowly prepared for their mission, making sure they had their weapons in pristine condition, and had both Dust and medicine in case something went wrong. A while after class ended, all the students cells went off. They each checked it out, and on their screens were the pairings list.

In the room of Team GRYD, the four were talking amongst themselves when an odd knock came from the doorway.

"Come in, Macro." said Glyph without hesitation.

The door opened, and sure enough, Macro led MEAL inside. Reyson looked at Glyph with curiosity, "That you two's secret code knock?"

"Something like that."

"Benefits of a military lifestyle," added Macro with a smirk, "you find mundane things to put codes in."

Reyson became disturbed by this, "Remind me never to invite you to my birthday party. Last thing I need is a secret message in a cake."

"I've done that before actually. I used the icing and-"

"Stop. I'm begging you."

"Focus." said Glyph strongly.

"Yeah Macro, come on man."

A glare from Glyph shut Reyson down, making many of the others laugh, including Macro, who eventually regained his natural composure, "You got the list, right?"

"Yes." said Yasmine, who was next to Leilani, "we're together for this mission."

"Seems only natural," noted Leilani with a small shrug, "I mean, we've proven we work well together. Why not keep us together for something like this?"

"Valid point," admitted Diana, "but I'm more worried about the fact that these attacks are only now being brought to our attention. Especially since we're kind of the cause of it, in a roundabout way."

"If you define 'saving Vale from destruction' as roundabout...then sure!" exclaimed Aaron in his pompous tone, Erin giggled at this.

"I'm serious you two! Did anyone hear about these attacks?"

Most of them shook their heads, only Glyph and Macro didn't, but only Macro spoke up, "I knew."

This made everyone snap their heads to him, Reyson got angry at this reveal, "When?"

"The call I had the other day? It was my father, he told me about the attacks. He said they were happening all over Remnant though, didn't mention how bad it was for Vale."

"Why didn't you tell us this?"

"What would we have done? Go after them? Like that would've done anything other than cause more problems."

"It's better than-"

"Enough!" interjected Glyph with a cold stare at Reyson, "Macro's right. It wouldn't have mattered. We're eight kids, we couldn't have gone all over Vale, let alone Remnant to save people. Let's focus on this mission. Understood?"

"Understood." many said in unison, others simply nodded, Reyson gave a noncommittal wave to show he wouldn't object.

"Good. Macro, sit rep."

Macro pulled out his phone and pressed a few buttons, and a projection of a map came up, they all came closer to observe it, "The leaders of the teams got details on their missions. Location, possible Grimm expectancy, etc."

"Where are we going?" asked Erin as she looked at the map.

"Ironically, not too far from where we went on our support mission a while back."

Leilani became visibly worried at this, "Is Chechon ok?"

"Also ironic, they weren't touched by the attacks. There were a couple Huntsman there to defend them, and they killed the Grimm before they could reach the homes. However, they were recalled to help out with potentially more destructive attacks, which leaves the village now open to attack. No doubt my teams familiarity with the village and the immediate area is why we were selected."

"How far from the village did you travel?" wondered Glyph.

"Not far, most of the materials we needed were already in the village, but we did need to go into the forest for certain other things. There are paths that we'll take to the potential Grimm hotspots. Our job is to go in, rout the Grimm, stay the night to ensure no retaliation, a final recon in the morning, then come back."

Yasmine looked at the map intently, "Grimm aren't prone to stay in areas like that for very long, we might not find their 'nest' in the remaining hours of the day we have."

"Our mission is to take out the Grimm, no matter the time limit. We have permission to stay an extra day or two if necessary. If by that time we haven't found anything, then we have orders to return and report that the info was bad. Any questions?"

Diana raised her hand, Macro pointed to her to signal she could speak, "Yeah, you've been to this area so...do you think my dress will blend in with the area?"

Macro, Glyph, and Yasmine all rolled their eyes at the question, while the others all laughed.

"Any RELEVANT questions?"

"I do." said Reyson, to which many skeptical looks followed, "No, seriously, I do!"

"Ok, I'll bite, what's your question?"

"You said you had info on potential Grimm expectancy, how many should we expect?"

Macro looked at Glyph, both with an impressed look as the question was very sound, "Good question, the typing is uncertain, but, we should expect 10-20, if not more."

"More than enough to wipe out that village." noted Glyph grimly.

"Indeed. If nothing else, let's get moving, our ride will be here soon."

With a nod of acknowledgment they all left the room. As they wandered the hallways to head to the airship, they ran into the other groups of students, many of whom were talking to one another, also planning their missions. Once outside, both GRYD and MEAL waited for their airship to arrive.

As Glyph waited, he felt a tug on his overcoat, he turned to see Elenor looking at him with uncertainty, "Elenor? What's wrong?"

She laughed nervously, "Where to start?"

"Is it about the mission? Who's your companion team?"

"DFND."

"They're good, stay close to them."

"I will...thanks..."

She nervously looked over her shoulder, Glyph followed her sightline and saw she was looking at the other members of PRME, who were talking amongst one another. Glyph got even more confused about this, "Elenor? What's going on?"

"Look, it's hard to explain here, when the mission is over, we need to talk, please?"

"Of course. Just tell me when."

"Thanks. I got to go, uh, good luck with your mission."

"You too."

With another nervous smile she darted off, even going an indirect route to make sure that PRME didn't see that she was coming from where Glyph was. As he saw this, he got apprehensive.

Macro saw this exchange, and approached Glyph with a look of curiosity and confusion, "What did Elenor want?"

"Something's going on with PRME."

"Hmm, we'll add it to the list of things to worry about. Come on, our rides here."

Sure enough, an airship descended nearby, GRYD and MEAL boarded it, then once secured inside, they took off.

From the Headmasters office, Night and Lochen watched anxiously as the airships arrived and took off. Lochen in particular seemed stressed about the situation, "I know this isn't my style, but, I'm worried about them. I don't like that we're sending them out."

"Beacon isn't just a name, Lochen, you know that. It's meant to be a symbol of hope. If there were any other options, I wouldn't have allowed this. But the attack has made all other options impossible. Besides, they need to know what these missions are like. I wish we had had this chance when we were in their shoes." said Night somberly

"Yeah...you're right about that."

They continued to watch as the students left, each wondering if they were really doing the right thing.

Sometime later, the airship touched down in a clearing of a heavily forested area. Though some houses and buildings could be seen through the trees themselves. MEAL smiled as they began to saw the village, while GRYD looked around curiously.

"Interesting place." noted Glyph.

Yasmine nodded in agreement, "Tactically speaking, this is a good place to build a home. Plenty of protection, and barring a large amount of bandits or Grimm, easy to defend."

"So far." added Macro with both a smile and a worried look, "But luck runs out, we're here to make sure that doesn't happen soon. I recommend we go to the village in and check in with the elder. Should be the same guy my team met on our previous mission. Let's see if he has any new info for us. Any objections?"

He turned to Glyph first, who shook his head. Macro looked then slowly turned to the others, who also raised no objections. Macro smiled at the consensus, "Good, move out."

Macro took point and led them down a path. Soon, people started to appear, and all reacted differently to their arrival. Some were happy, others were worried. Eventually, and older man approached them, and upon seeing Macro and the other members of MEAL held out his arms in joy, "Ah! Our saviors have returned!"

Aaron seemed to really enjoy the praise, "We're happy to have returned! We-"

Erin slapped her hand over his mouth to stop him, "...are just students who helped you, we're not saviors."

She gave Aaron a look, and he toned down his posturing, "Right, we're...just here to help again."

The elder laughed at the two, "Maybe, but if you save us from the Grimm that may be lurking out there, that would make you saviors, to us anyway."

Macro stepped forward, "Do you have any leads on where they might be? Any new information could be extremely helpful."

"We might, allow us a moment to get our map."

The elder departed with some others to get the map. The members of GRYD and MEAL talked amongst each other or with nearby villagers to see what needed to be done. The sound of fast footsteps soon filled the air.

"Ms. Leilani!" shouted several young voices

Leilani turned to see a school of kids approaching her, she recognized them instantly as the ones she helped the last time she was here, "Hey everyone! You all doing alright?"

"Yep!" said one of the boys, "You want to see our clubhouse? We expanded it a bit since you were last here!"

"Really? Cool! Yasmine, come with us, you need to see this!"

Yasmine seemed oddly pleased by the request, "Sure, why not?"

The kids brought the two to where the clubhouse was, but both were shocked at what they saw. For the clubhouse was now triple the size it was last time. Though the outside style still matched the color scheme that Leilani had done before.

"You did all this Leilani?"

"Uh...about one-third." she replied, "Guys, this is incredible! You did all this yourselves?"

"We had some help from our parents," admitted one girl, "but after what you did for us Leilani we couldn't help but want to make it even cooler!"

"Well, you certainly succeeded there! Can we see inside? I want to see what you did with the place."

The kids whisked Yasmine and Leilani inside. From afar, Macro and Glyph watched this with smiles on their faces. Macro nudged Glyph, "Thanks for the advice."

"I didn't offer much." said Glyph with a shrug

"You did more than you think, you always do."

"All I said was start small, I didn't think about children."

"Maybe, but you were the spark. Between you and Professor Tod, you brought Leilani out of her shell a lot."

Glyph gave him a serious, "Don't discount what you did. I'm her friend. You're her partner. This wouldn't have happened without you."

"Thanks man. Oh, here comes the elder."

The elder approached them, and held out a map, "Sorry for the delay, but there are three areas we think the Grimm may be hiding. They've never been this close to our village, so we can't say for certain. But people have noticed movement near these areas while they were doing supply runs."

Macro surveyed the map, looking for clues to help with the assessment of the plan, "It's hard to say which to go to first. One's near water, that could be enticing to them, as they could hunt prey there. This one has cover...the other is an open area...not sure."

"What's your gut say?" asked Reyson, "That's what works for me."

"Isn't that also what gets you in trouble?" wondered Diana

"No, that's my bloodlust. Totally different."

"Right..."

Glyph cleared his throat to silence them, "He's right about one thing, trust your gut."

Macro nodded, and examined the map again, then pointed to one spot, "We'll start here. It's the closest, and should it not work out, it'll be easy to get back before it gets too dark. If there is a large group out there, I'd rather not face it in the dark."

"Agreed. Too big a risk."

The elder nodded and folded up the map, "We do appreciate this. It's a big burden off our minds."

Reyson laughed in his usual way, "Say that once we're done."

This time it was Macro who shut Reyson down, but he recovered quickly, "We'll take care of it. But, in case something goes wrong, have patrols be ready. I don't want any strays getting loose while we're dealing with whatever is out there."

"We'll get right on it."

"Good, alright, let's grab Yasmine and Leilani and get going."

With a gesture, they all started to move to an open part of the village, they met up with Leilani and Yasmine, who said goodbye to the kids before rejoining them. Once together, they went down an open path, and went into the forest.

Macro took lead, the others followed close behind, weapons all out and ready to fire at a moments notice. Reyson was itching for a fight, but his focus soon went to Macro, who was methodically looking around the forest. In fact, he did the exact same moments over and over again. He watched this for a while, getting more and more perplexed with every rotation.

"What is he doing?" he asked softly.

"Tracking," answered Glyph.

"Tracking what?"

"What do you think?"

"...oh! You mean like looking for signs of Grimm?"

"Yes. It helps determine where they've been, and possibly where they're going."

"So...he's being a dog?"

A sound of disgust got their attention, the two turned around to see Yasmine looking at Reyson with serious disdain, Leilani laughed at this though.

Reyson however wasn't amused, "Want to say something?"

"Yeah, I do," she replied, venom still in her eyes, "Tracking is something that many people do. Something many SMART people do, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised you don't know anything about it."

Before Reyson even had a chance to make a move, Glyph grabbed his arm and reared him forward, "Focus. Now."

Reyson shrugged, "Fine by me. But tell me this, what is he looking for?"

"That." answered Macro, pointing to a nearby tree.

The others stopped and looked at it, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, making many of them confused, including The Lovers. Erin looked at the tree for a while before asking, "What are we looking at?"

"Look at the branch. Second one up."

They adjusted their views to see it, and sure enough, there were unnatural claw marks on the branch. Upon seeing this, many of them became impressed. Diana in particular nodded in appreciation of this, "Wow, that's impressive. I didn't even look that high up."

"You're not trained to, I am. Yasmine? Could you use your eyes to see if you can tell what made those marks?"

Yasmine stepped forward and turned on her Semblance, "They're deep, I only see three marks but I think that these were just the ones that hit. Judging on depth and look I'd say-"

"Beowulf." interjected Reyson.

They all turned to him, who just smiled an shrugged, "What? I know my Grimm. Once she said more than three fingers I figured Beowulf. A hunter has to know his prey, right?"

He smiled evilly at Yasmine knowing it would tick her off, and it did. But Macro whistled to get their attention, "Come on, we got bigger issues here. Judging by the marks, I'd say they were made hours ago, if not longer. I say it went this way, so let's go."

With a motion they all followed, and the search continued. As they searched for the Grimm pack, Macro found more and more clues proving that something was moving through the trees, but with each clue came more confusion. An hour or so passed, and still no sign of Grimm.

Finding a clearing, the teams decided to take a break. Yasmine to the chance to use her drones to get a better location on where they were. The others sat down and rested their legs, for they were tired from walking for so long.

The drone came down and relayed the information to Yasmine, who seemed content with the input, "We're about 4 miles from the village."

"That's it?" asked Aaron, "Seems like we walked farther than that."

"We did, but we didn't walk in a straight line, we zigzagged as we followed the trail of the Grimm. Thus, we're only four miles from the village."

"Makes sense."

Reyson though wasn't happy at all, "What doesn't make sense is this 'trail' we're following, how have we seen any Grimm yet?"

He looked to Macro, who was stone-faced as he looked back, "Hard to say. Could be moving around just like us, the trail is there, but that doesn't mean it's fully fresh. Yasmine, how long until sunset?"

She mulled it over, "About two and a half hours."

"Set a timer, when two hours hits, we'll start heading back to the village."

"On it."

"We'll rest another 10 minutes, then leave, ok?"

They all nodded, and went about their ways, Macro went to one part of the clearing and looked out into the trees. Glyph saw this and went over to him, "What's going on?"

"I'm not liking what I'm seeing on this trail." he replied grimly

"You think?"

"I'm serious. I'm a good tracker, I know the signs, we are following Grimm, no doubt. But not a pack, not here."

"Why don't we go back then?"

"Cause even two Grimm can cause problems. Besides, if I'm wrong? We screwed the village, I won't have that."

"We'll get them. Just keep doing what you do best, lead."

He gave Macro a reassuring smile, Macro sighed and nodded, "Thanks. I needed that."

"I know."

"Ha, ha. Come on, let's get ready to go."

A few minutes passed and they went back on the hunt. Their rest was rewarded though, for with fresh eyes and confidence Macro not only picked up the trail again, but was finding fresher signs. They sped up to try and get to them. The pursuit lasted a while, when suddenly Macro held out a fist to stop them. He closed his eyes, and felt the ground, blocking out the world around him so he could get a clearer picture. Most of the others weren't sure what was going on, and tried to ask him something, but Glyph stopped it from happening.

Sounds filled Macro's ears, and soon he heard what he wanted and smiled, "Reyson? Ready to fight?"

Reyson raised his swords up, "You know it."

"Form your canons, and then blast them...there."

He pointed to a section of trees nearby, and Reyson opened fire on them. The trees disintegrated, and though nothing was behind them, that didn't take the smile off Macro's face. He simply stood up and put his E-Tool into gun mode, "Wait for it."

As if on cue, a trio of Beowulfs appeared in the new clearing, and upon seeing MEAL and GRYD attacked. The teams immediately went to work, pairing up and attacking them. While they did, another duo of Beowulf's showed up. Macro signaled Reyson to back him up, and the two teamed up to take them down.

They were soon dispatched, and Reyson howled with joy, "Now that's what I'm talking about! Thanks for the appetizer, Macro, now, where's the main-"

A roar filled the air just behind them, both Macro and Reyson looked to where it was coming from, but they were too late, a large tree trunk was flung at them. While Macro barely dodged, Reyson got clocked and was flung backwards, the tree pinned Reyson to the ground.

Macro whistled for the others to help, and some made an effort to do so, but as they did, two Beringel's appeared. One near Macro, the other near the rest. While the rest teamed up to fight their Beringel, Macro was alone.

As the Grimm drew closer, Macro weighed all the options in his mind, until finally he got angry and threw down his E-Tool, "Screw it."

He charged the Beringel, who returned the gesture, but Macro started glowing, and slowly began to grow, until he was much taller than the Grimm. Macro grabbed the beast and slammed it into the ground. Then began pummeling it with his now massive fists. The last one making it completely vaporize upon impact. Quickly, Macro reached over and pulled the tree trunk off of Reyson, then shrunk back down.

Now regular size, Macro went to check on Reyson, but Macro himself wasn't so well. He was breathing heavily, and blood began pouring from his nose. Eventually he collapsed right next to Reyson.

The others finished their Grimm and raced to the others, Glyph checked their vitals, "They're alive, but we need to get back to the village. Now."

"Can you teleport us that far?" asked Yasmine

He shook his head, "Too far, even if I did it individually. We can't risk it. Could be more Grimm. I'll get Macro. Lovers, take Reyson. Let's go."

With some effort, he lifted Macro up and into his arms, the Lovers worked together to get Reyson up and into a position where they could walk with him. The others surround them to ensure they weren't caught off guard by other Grimm.

They raced as quickly as they dared back to the village. Glyph kept checking on Macro, and asked The Lovers to do the same for Reyson. Both were fine, but every passing minute made them more tense. Eventually, they made it back to the village. The villagers were taken aback when they came back in the condition they were in. The elder heard the commotion and approached.

"What happened?" he asked seeing the state of Reyson and Macro

"We were ambushed," noted Glyph quickly, "do you have medicine? We need it."

"Of course, we'll guide you to the doctor's house."

The elder motioned for some others to come in and help, and they took both Reyson and Macro and led them down a ways to a house out of sight. Some of GRYD and MEAL made to follow, but Glyph held them back with an outstretched hand.

He looked at them intently, "Let them do what they need to."

Though hesitant, they all agreed, and stood there in silence.

Hours passed, night fell, and no word had come about the condition of Reyson and Macro. The others sat around a fire, still taken aback that two of their members had gone down. Some were eating, others just sat and gazed at the fire. But a look of confusion was on the face of Aaron.

He turned to Glyph, "Since when Macro do that?"

Glyph laughed in an interesting way, "A long time."

"What's so funny?" asked Erin, curious about Glyph's response.

"You all seriously are just asking now about Macro's Semblance? You never thought about it before? Why he never used it before? Ever? Despite all we've been through?"

He looked at them all one by one, and was met with a series of different reactions. Content, he nodded and went back to his meal. But some of them weren't content at all, and again faced him.

One of them was Leilani, "I just want to know why it hurt him. He's my partner, he never told me his Semblance, and I didn't ask. Now I am. Please Glyph."

Glyph turned to Leilani, and saw her pleading eyes. With a sigh he relented and put down his food, "Macro's Semblance is size manipulation. Obviously. What you don't know, was that it appeared at birth."

"For real?" wondered Diana in disbelief

"For real."

"How does that work?"

"I discovered my Semblance at a very young age. My father didn't though until he was nearly out of school. Why did I get it sooner than him? Who's to say there is a set time we have to discover it?"

Yasmine nudged Leilani, "I got mine years before Leilani."

Leilani nudged her back, "Yeah, and she never lets me forget it."

"Point is," reasserted Glyph, "when Macro was born, he was undersized, the doctor thought he wouldn't live. Apparently, his mother cried, her tears hit Macro, and...he glowed...and grew."

"You're making this up." said Diana not buying it.

"There's video proof, he showed it to me."

"Holy crap."

"It was a one time thing. Macro's Semblance didn't happen again for a long time after that. Once he rediscovered it, he and his father tried to carefully push the limits. And it worked. He could grow, and then shrink back with no issues. But then he pushed it too far."

"How?" asked Aaron still confused

"Our bodies have limits. Aura or no Aura, they have limits. He broke them, and they broke him back. He grew too big one day, just trying to have fun. His body couldn't take it, he almost died."

Erin gasped, "Oh my gosh."

"Since then, he rarely used his Semblance. And yes, I know that sounds familiar, but the difference is huge. If he misuses his Semblance, he dies. Like today. So...like...like the soldier he is, he refined his other skills. The results speak for themselves."

The others went into their own thoughts after this reveal, all except for Erin, who didn't take her eyes off of Glyph, her eyes scanning him for an answer he was hiding. Before she could try and follow-up on it, Glyph stood back up.

"It's getting late, the Elder offered us a spare house for the night. Let's rest up. Tomorrow we need to complete the mission."

"Seriously?" asked Diana in disbelief , "That's what you're thinking about?"

"Yeah, because that's what Macro would say if the roles were reversed. He'll back on his feet in the morning, and the first thing he'll talk about is the mission. Let's be ready for that."

With a shrug, he turned and walked away.

The morning came, and in the doctors house, Macro was still healing. Suddenly though his eyes flipped open, and he immediately sprang upright. He looked around for any sign of what was going on. Memories flashed through his mind of the last things he remembered, and he started checking himself for injuries, including his nose for bleeding. When he felt he was alright he tried to stand up.

To his surprise, he felt no weakness as he stood, in fact, he felt perfectly well, "Hmm, guess someone took care of me."

The door opened, which put Macro on edge, until he saw it was Glyph, relief came to both of them as they saw the other, and they clasped hands like brothers.

"Man, am I glad to see you."

"Likewise." Glyph said with a smile, "How do you feel?"

"Pretty good actually, I'm guessing this is a doctor's hut?"

"Yep."

"How bad was it?"

"Pretty bad."

"Shoot." Macro sighed heavily and diverted his gaze and looked around the room, "I thought because I hadn't used it in years that my body might better prepared for it, guess not. I had to do something, Reyson was... Reyson! Where is he?"

"He's fine, he woke up late last night. He's got some bruises, but his Aura took most of the damage. He's angry as all get out that a Grimm ambushed him, but he's fine."

"Good...good..."

Though relieved, Macro still seemed down, Glyph noticed this, "You did the right thing, Macro."

"I know. But I can hear my dad saying 'you should've thought this through more'."

"Maybe, but what did he say about hindsight?"

"It's useless, and destructive. Thanks."

"No problem. So...ready to get back at it?"

Macro turned to see Glyph toss him his E-Tool, he went through a quick weapons check, then locked it in its shovel form with a smile, "Move out."

"Yes sir." said Glyph with a smile and salute.

With a smile of his own, Macro saluted Glyph, and led the way outside. The village was actually quite busy for it being so early morning. Macro saw the others huddled near a house, and moved towards them. As they saw him they rushed over and greeted him.

Leilani got the most personal, giving him a hug to show she was glad he was ok, "I'm glad you're ok."

"Thanks Leilani, appreciate it."

"Good, cause now I'm about to say something very unlike me. Don't ever do that again!"

With great speed and strength she punched him in the shoulder, taking all of them aback, "Ok, I won't."

"That's hot." joked Reyson, which made them all laugh for a bit, even Macro. Reyson then stepped forward, "Seriously though, thanks for the save yesterday. Glad you're alright."

"No problem, but don't expect that save again, I don't want Leilani to punch me again."

They again laughed, all were happy to be together again. Yasmine was the first to get back to a more serious tone, "So, what now?"

Macro got back his smile, but a more serious and professional one, "What now? We finish the mission."

"Told you." said Glyph with a look to Diana

She wasn't amused and gave him a mocking look, "To be fair, partner, it wasn't the first thing he said."

"Fair enough."

"If you two are done," said Macro getting their attention, "we need to get moving. Despite what happened, the mission isn't done. We were told ten to twenty Grimm, there was only seven. What's more, based on the fact that you all are ok, I would guess that no other Grimm attacked you after me and Reyson were out? Nor during the night?"

"No," acknowledged Erin

Aaron strummed his chin in thought "It was...unusual...given the negativity in the air."

Macro pointed to Aaron at this, "Exactly, which meant that despite the negativity, the Grimm weren't in the area to respond. But, we can't risk that they aren't closer now. The two other areas we need to search are in the opposite direction of where we went yesterday. Stick together, no more incidents like yesterday."

"That goes double for you two," said Yasmine with a point to Macro and Reyson

"No promises," replied Reyson with his typical evil grin

"Move out." ordered Macro with a wave of his hand.

With that, they made for the other side of the village, and after telling the elder they were going to finish the mission, went into the forest to hunt the Grimm once more.

For a while, they had no indication that Grimm were in the area. Macro continually surveyed the area for any marks or clues. This time though, Yasmine used her Semblance to help out with it, scanning for any and all clues as to where the Grimm might be.

After some time and searching, Yasmine got a glimpse of something and tapped Macro on the shoulder, "That way, I see something."

"Form up!" shouted Macro to the others as Yasmine went in front to guide them.

She led them to a side path in the forest, as they went down it, marks began to appear on the trees and in the ground, but Yasmine didn't stop for them. Instead, she kept going until reached an intersection that was full of partially destroyed trees, bushes, and nearly uprooted earth.

"Whoa," said Diana slightly unsettled at the sight.

Reyson stepped forward to take it all in, "Yeah, I'm with you Red, there's at least...four different types of Grimm marks here."

They all looked at Reyson in shock at his preciseness. He became insulted.

"Seriously? I know my Grimm! I'm not a total idiot, get over it!"

"That'll take some time," Yasmine mocked before returning her attention to the area, she turned to Macro, "Is he right?"

Macro's face went very somber, "Yeah, and that's got me worried."

"Hey!" cried out Reyson even more insulted.

"I meant the fact that there are four types of Grimm nearby. I recognize the tracks and markings, two of them are very big, even more reason to be worried."

Glyph put a hand on Macro's shoulder, and gave him a reassuring look, "We'll deal with whatever comes. What's our play?"

"You're right. Ok, I'm tempted to split up, but let's not, as I don't want us to be caught off guard should one group run into the entire mass of Grimm."

"That would be bad," said Aaron emphatically

"Very." Erin added

"Exactly," said Macro with a nod, "so, we stick together still. But from now on, weapons at the ready, like combat ready. We could be attacked at any minute."

"Any suggestions?" asked Leilani pointing to her bandoleer

"Strongest stuff Leilani, I think we'll need it."

With that, they began walking again. Leilani stuck close to Yasmine as she modified her claws. Once done, she extended them, elements and Dust mixed together to make them even more intimidating. She gave a nod to her sister that she was ready for battle, and Yasmine smiled back.

Silence filled the forest, only their footsteps and the rustling of the trees and bushes could be heard at certain times.

Suddenly, Yasmine's eyes flashed, and she readied her lance and drones, "Grimm! Incoming!"

They all got ready, and sure enough, seconds later a group of five Boarbatusks emerged from the forest, and immediately charged at them.

Some of the team had to dodge, while others immediately opened fire on them. The Grimm were deterred because of it.

Macro reloaded and aimed again at the Boarbatusks, "Get their bellies exposed, then get your-"

A crash behind him stopped him, and two Ursa appeared and made for Macro, before they could reach him though, Reyson lunged and knocked him out of the way. Both fell to the ground safe from the Ursa. Seeing their teammates down, the Lovers distracted the Ursa with bolts from their weapons.

Noticing the moments reprieve, Reyson helped Macro up and said bluntly, "We're even."

Macro scoffed, "Didn't realize you didn't like to owe anyone."

"Never have before, why start now?"

"Point taken. Shall we?"

"Heck yeah."

Weapons loaded they rejoined the fight. Glyph, Macro, and Reyson took on the Ursa while the Lovers, Diana, Yasmine and Leilani took on the Boarbatusks.

The Lovers used the weapons to restrict the Boarbatusks movements, while Diana and Yasmine used their weapons to trip up the Grimm and expose their weak spot, to which Leilani finished them off with a stab of her claws.

Meanwhile, the guys worked in tandem to beat up the Ursa. Glyph teleported around them and blasted the two with his Escrima, which made them distracted so that Reyson and Macro could carve into them with their weapons.

Reyson plunged his Khopeshs into one Ursa, then with a roar ripped them out so its body was dissected. Macro meanwhile jumped into the air and slashed at the Ursa with the blade end of his E-Tool, literally slicing it in half.

With them gone, Reyson turned to Glyph, "Who had the better kill?"

Glyph thought about it, then pointed to Macro, and made a sound effect resembling the slicing of the Grimm via the E-tool.

"Darn it, need to work on my style points."

He stomped away angrily. While Glyph and Macro looked at the other and shook their heads in disbelief.

Grimm all dead, they came back together, Glyph looked at the others who didn't battle the Ursa, "You all good?"

"No worries, partner." said Diana with a smile, "We were like a well oiled machine."

"Or...a team." corrected Yasmine

"Whatever trips your trigger."

Yasmine made to bite back, but Leilani stopped her, "Point is...we're fine Glyph, thanks for asking."

She smiled at Glyph, who smiled back, which made Diana step forward to break up the moment, "Ok, so, I counted seven Grimm there, add those to the seven we fought yesterday and that makes fourteen. That's between ten and twenty so...are we done?"

Macro sighed, "No. Because..."

He stopped and looked at Leilani, whose ears perked up suddenly, "Uh oh."

"What is it?"

"I hear...hissing..."

They all went into combat mode, and no sooner did they do so than the trees next to them exploded from and impact, and a giant white snake head lunged out at them.

"King Taijitu!" called out Glyph as he dodged

"Where's the other head?" cried out Macro as he recovered from the initial strike

Reyson transformed one of his swords into its gun form, then used his free hand to trace out the King Taijitu. His finger ended up in the trees, and he fired a couple volleys into it. Sure enough, the black head of the Grimm popped up into the air.

"There." Reyson said with a laugh, then he went back to his dual sword style, "this will be easy!"

The moment he said that though the earth shook near him, he quickly turned around and his eyes went wide as another massive Grimm burst out of the trees near him.

"A Deathstalker? Are you kidding me?"

"You had to say this would be easy, didn't you?" asked Diana mockingly while dodging attacks

"Oh shut up, Red!"

Reyson reformed his arm canons and started blasting away at the scorpion Grimm, Glyph teleported in and assisted him with his shotgun. The combined blasted stunned the Deathstalker, but wasn't doing much damage.

"Shouldn't this be working?"

"We need to get closer, hold on," said Glyph before teleporting him and Reyson away

They reappeared on the Grimm itself, and then started blasting again. The armor of the Deathstalker began to fracture and the Grimm roared in pain. But it also became virulent in its attempts to strike at them. It became so agitated that it began spinning in place, forcing Glyph to teleport them off.

Meanwhile, the other six were working together to fight off the King Taijitu. But with the two head of the Grimm striking simultaneously at them, it became difficult to line up impactful shots.

"Any ideas Yasmine?" asked Erin after a failed strike on one of the heads

Yasmine looked frustrated, her Semblance wasn't giving her any help, "This one isn't making it easy! It seems fine doing random things!"

Macro lit up the black snake head with his machine gun, "Then go basic! What would work?"

"...separate the heads from one another! Figuratively speaking that is."

"Great! Lovers, with me! Diana, Yasmine, Leilani, divert the other head your way. Move!"

Now in groups of three, they combined their attacks to divert the gaze of each head of the King Taijitu. Eventually, they worked themselves back so far that the heads were a good distance apart from each other. In fact, at one point, the two heads actually lunged at the trios, but each one was stopped as the room they had to move wasn't enough.

"Now!" commanded Macro and the teams pressed their attack.

Aaron used his crossbow bolts to continue the distraction on the black snake head. Meanwhile Macro and Erin reformed their weapons into blades. Macro used his Semblance to grow a little and helped Erin up onto the snake head. He then joined her and the two slashed at the Grimm, doing serious damage.

The white snake head noticed this, and tried to help. But Leilani rushed forward, "No you don't!"

She jumped into the air and then slammed the white snake into the ground with great force. Seeing the opening, Yasmine and Diana joined in on the strike. Yasmine used her drones to attack from all angles, while Diana used her Semblance to summon her projections to help out in the attack.

Combined, the attacks really started to do damage, and eventually, they overwhelmed the King Taijitu, killing it.

With the Deathstalker, Reyson and Glyph were having a bit more trouble. The scorpion moved quickly as to not let them gain a moment to breathe. It continually struck out with its tail or its pincers.

"This is getting old!" roared Reyson as he continually dodged the strikes, "Any ideas fearless leader?"

"Yeah, get its attention, make it attack you with the stinger." answered Glyph with a small smile

"And?"

"Trust me."

Glyph disappeared, leaving Reyson alone, even for Reyson, he was shocked at this, "Son of a-"

Before he could finish the Deathstalker struck at him. Again Reyson dodged, but afterwards through down his swords and walked right up to the Deathstalker.

"Hey, ugly! Why don't you just die? Is it really so hard for you? I know you Grimm are supposed to be stupid, but seriously, just die!"

The Deathstalker snapped its pincers menacingly, Reyson feigned fear, "Oh, pincers! I'm so scared! That won't work on me idiot! Your tail though? I don't know...give me your best shot! COME ON!"

The Grimm reared back its tail and lunged it at Reyson, who didn't flinch. Glyph reappeared above the tail as it made its way to him, and with shotgun in hand blasted it. The impact forced the tail to go into the Deathstalkers head, killing it instantly.

When it vanished, Glyph reappeared and patted Reyson on the shoulder, "Nice job."

Reyson shook his head in disbelief, "Dude, you lucky that worked."

"Yep."

He walked away, Reyson tried to figure out the intent of his comment, "Wait, did you not think it would work? Glyph? Hello! Gosh dang it."

Now together, they took stock of the situation. Macro surveyed everyone, "Everyone good?"

"More or less," said Reyson with a distasteful look at Glyph, who smiled at Macro afterward

"Good enough."

"So, that's sixteen." noted Diana with a quick count of her fingers, "Do we think that's all?"

"Honestly? Yes. But let's do a quick survey just to make sure. Move out."

With a nod from each of them they continued to move around the forest area.

A few hours later, they re-entered the village. Macro went towards the Elder, "Elder! We're done. We fought quite a few Grimm today, but we think we got them all out of your immediate area."

This brought great relief to the Elder, "Ah! Bless you, all of you. That will bring much joy to us knowing we're safe. And hopefully some Huntsman and Huntresses will be back nearby should something happen. After all, we can't keep calling on you all!"

They all laughed and Macro nodded, "Yeah, we do need to get back soon."

"Of course! But first, you must eat! Besides, your wouldn't be here for an hour or so, why not rest first?"

Macro turned to the others, who all signaled in their own way that they were fine with it, "Well, they did say stay the night after we were done. So, I can wait until morning to make the call."

"Excellent! Let us feast!"

Work got underway, and soon everyone was eating a fine meal. GRYD and MEAL talked amongst one another, now fully free of their mission, they let their positive energy flow out of them as they enjoyed each others' company.

At one point, Macro got up and went to get some more food. As he did though someone came up behind him, it was Erin.

"Mind if I ask you something?" she queried with a smile

"You just did." he joked

"Ha, ha. Come on, please?"

"Sure Erin, what is it?"

"Well...Glyph told us about why you don't use your Semblance much."

"Ah, crap. Did he tell you about my mother crying and making me bigger?"

"Yeah...did that seriously happen?"

"Yep, dad was taping the whole thing. Good thing too, else no one would believe me."

"Fair enough. Anyway, one thing he said kind...kind of...well, resonated with me."

This got Macro curious, "Oh? What's that?"

Erin got nervous but went through with her though, "Well, he said, 'like the soldier he is", but the way he said it made me feel like he was hiding something. Like...you don't want to be a soldier?"

The two looked at each other, Macro with a blank expression, Erin with an uneasy one. Macro put down his plate of food and motioned for her to follow him. She did so, and they went by a tree with no one nearby.

"Here's the deal. When I grew up, I saw my father as the coolest person on Remnant. He was strong, confident, looked intimidating to his foes, and almost always knew what to do. He never asked me to be a soldier, but I knew I wanted to be one. I wanted to be like him. So I did everything I could to be like him. I trained to be a soldier, modeled my look after him, even went to Signal and Beacon just like he did."

"And...?" asked hesitantly

"One day, I heard some people talking about what they would be if they lived in a world without Grimm. Where Huntsman and Huntresses weren't needed. I laughed it off, we would never be there. But then, I dared to imagine what I would be...and I couldn't think of anything."

Erin was surprised by this admission, and even Macro nodded at what she meant by it, "Yeah, I couldn't believe it either. Now to be fair, even in a world without Grimm there are needs for soldiers. But I put that thought away and started to ask myself...'Who is Macro Camof when he's not a soldier?', and I couldn't answer. Sure, I mean, I'm a friend, a student, but those are all non-personal things. I don't know who I am, because I modeled everything I am after my father. That's...scary to me."

"I'm so sorry Macro."

"Don't be, it's my fault. It's ironic really. You know who you want to be, but your parents are trying to stop you. My father wants me to be happy, and wouldn't push me to do anything, yet I want to be exactly like him. More-or-less anyway."

The two laughed, and Erin made a big smile, "Couple of opposites here."

"In a way. Regardless, that's what he meant. I had a...I guess identity crisis, and Glyph helped me through it. He knows I don't mind being a soldier, but I don't know what else I could be. He teases that it's my "destiny" to be a soldier, because that's how I saw it. He got me to a point where I could live with the not knowing."

"How did he do that?"

"Because he said he didn't know what he was to be for most of his young life. He was told to be a Huntsman, and he did it. In a way, he barely knows who he is either. But he doesn't let it weigh him down."

"Hmm...I had no idea. I guess we're all looking for who we are in a way."

"In a way. Reyson is looking for what is aside from being a Heron. You're looking for who you are outside of your families traditions. Diana is looking for the way to be the best dancer and Huntress ever. Yasmine and Leilani are looking to be more than the Faunus the world sees them as, and Glyph is looking to be the person who can look himself in the mirror and smile."

"And you want to look for who you are when the soldier isn't there." added Erin.

Macro tapped his nose and smiled, "Right."

"...oh! What about Aaron?"

"Uh..." started Macro, who turned to where the others are, Erin joined him in that look, at the nearby campfire, Aaron was vividly and animatedly telling a story, "...I think he knows who he is."

"Fair enough." she said with a laugh

"I would appreciate if you didn't tell anyone this Erin. I don't mind you know, as you know the struggle I'm going through, the others might not."

"Ok."

"Good. Now come on! Let's enjoy the night. Who knows what tomorrow will bring."

With another smile and a nod, the two went back to the campfire and joined their friends once again.


	18. Season 02 - Chapter 3

GRYD Season 02 Chapter 3: The Paths We Take

Late at night, in the halls of Beacon Academy, a person carefully walked through in, they constantly turned around to make sure they weren't followed. Slowly they went down passageway after passageway, until finally they stopped by ducking into an entranceway. They again slowly poked their head out, but what they didn't see was the hand reaching for them from behind.

The hand grabbed the person by the shoulder, and a girl screamed a little before being muffled by another hand.

The body soon followed, and it was a Glyph, "It's me Elenor, calm down."

A wave of relief fell over Elenor's face, and Glyph slowly let go to allow her to speak, "You shouldn't have scared me like that."

"Sorry. You told me to be stealthy though."

"Right, I did say that, heh."

Silence fell between them, which made Glyph confused, "Elenor?"

"Oh! Right, sorry, come on, let's talk in the classroom."

She raced by him and opened a door, Glyph followed her in. Once inside, she turned on the lights, and for the first time Glyph got a good look at her. Elenor was in her regular attire, but he could see bruises and welts on her body, mainly along her arms and face.

"You alright?" he asked concerned

"I'm fine, the Grimm...were persistent. It took much longer than we thought to rout them all. DFND was great by the way, you were right, they protected us."

"And did you in return?"

"Me and Rita did. The others...well...you know."

"I do. What's this about Elenor? You were scared before the mission, and now you're basically terrified of something. What is it?"

"It's...about Primrose and Maggie."

This got his attention, and his face went from worry to anger, "What?"

"The other day, I heard them talking, Primrose...she's not happy, at all. She hates you Glyph, and Macro, and your teams by association. But mainly you two. She hates the attention and praise you get because of your missions, and she wants to get back at you, badly."

"And Maggie?"

"She promised to help her in any way she can."

"Rita?"

The mention of her name made Elenor smile, "She doesn't know about this. Ironically, Primrose doesn't know if she can trust her anymore. Because of how she treats me now, and treats you now."

"Treats me?" asked Glyph confused

"You haven't noticed? She doesn't mind talking with you now. Primrose apparently saw us three talking that one day. You know, about the food?"

"Oh yeah, we were exchanging recipes. Rita laughed when I recalled how I ruined some of my moms' cookware."

"Exactly. Primrose thinks she's warming up to you, and by extension, distancing herself from her and Maggie."

Glyph grunt and walked through the classroom a bit, he knew all too well the judgment of Primrose. It was because of her that the world thought he was a monster, lying about the incident at Signal and what really happened there. Just the thought of it made him boil.

He caught this though and took some deep breaths before turning back to Elenor, "I appreciate you telling me her state of mind, but, do I really have to fear? She's come after me before."

Elenor stepped towards him, fear more prevalent, "Not like this! You didn't see her in the mission Glyph! There were many times we could've stopped, could've retreated for better positioning, Primrose wouldn't have it! She...she...well...she acted like Reyson!"

"That's not good."

"In a way, if it was just about Grimm I might have let it go, but afterwards? She was just as agitated, she hated having no more Grimm to fight. It was if..."

"...as if she was challenging herself? Pushing herself? For a more worthy challenge?"

"Yeah. Maggie didn't say anything, but I could tell she's worried, and I'm just plain scared! If she has this determination to Grimm? I don't want to know what she has planned for you."

For the first time, Glyph went into deep thought, this news did trouble him. What could Primrose be up to? Was it going to be a public fight? Or something more personal? More sinister? He wasn't sure, and that worried him.

"Glyph?" said Elenor softly, getting his attention.

"Sorry, was thinking."

"It's ok. Look, I promise if I find anything else I'll tell you. I don't want anything to happen to you. You mean too much to me...I mean! I couldn't bear it if something happened to...umm..."

"Elenor, it's ok. I know you're gay."

The statement took her aback, but she then broke into a smile, "That obvious?"

He shook his head, "No, someone taught me how to read people, and see the subtle signs. Like...how you look at Rita."

This statement got her to blush, "Yeah...that makes sense."

"You have nothing to be ashamed of, and who knows, maybe Rita will like you in the same way, one day."

"You think?"

"She's gay, and you are changing her view on things, I think she appreciates that."

"Thanks Glyph. Anyway, what I was trying to say before was that I have appreciated your support of me. Especially in the early parts of my time here."

Glyph laughed and stepped up to her, then playfully rubbed her head, "I told my own partner that I see you like a little sister. I'm a single child, but if I did have a sibling, I would hope I would look out for them like I look out for you."

"Please, don't stop looking out for me. I don't want to die."

The two laughed, and it echoed throughout the classroom. Eventually they stopped and looked at the other in appreciation.

"We should head back," noted Glyph with a nod to the door

"Right. But I'm serious about one thing, please be careful Glyph. I don't trust Primrose, especially right now."

"And I'm grateful. I owe you one."

"No, I still owe you, for everything you've done, but, I'll consider this a start at repaying it."

"If you insist. Now come on, let's go."

With a smile and a nod Elenor exited, with Glyph close behind.

The next morning, Glyph and Macro went at it in a sparring match. Glyph only used one of his escrima, while Macro used the full might of his E-Tool.

During one clash of their weapons, Macro's expression shifted, "You think she's telling the truth?"

"Elenor has no reason to lie to me."

"That's true, she's always been grateful to you."

The two pushed off, then let loose a wave of strikes and flurries, each trying to outdo the other. After both missed multiple times, they circled, waiting for the moment to strike.

Glyph's expression shifted this time though, "You should've seen it Macro, she was terrified. She likened Primrose on their mission to Reyson."

"Holy crap," said Macro astonished, "she wasn't that possessed during our team fight!"

"I know! That's why I'm worried."

Opportunity arising, Glyph struck, Macro parried and managed to get in a blow, but Glyph rebounded super quickly, and managed to land a few strikes himself, the intensity of his strikes grew as he thought about the situation.

"I hate her, Primose. She's brought nothing but pain to us the moment we met her! And now she thinks we're trying to upstage her? We're trying to save lives! I don't have time for spotlight!"

Glyph got incensed, and Macro saw this and shifted his E-Tool into its gun form and pointed it right at Glyphs' face, making him stop instantly, "Calm. Down."

Though stunned at first, Glyph collected himself, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Macro lowered his gun, "Don't be, you have every reason to be incensed at her, the dumb brat has it coming."

Stopping the fight, Macro shifted his weapon back into shovel form, then flung it into the ground, making it stand upright. Glyph put his escrima away, "What do we do? Do we tell the teams?"

"Of course! Elenor said they're "guilty by association" in Primrose's eyes, can't risk them not knowing."

"Where did it all go wrong?" Glyph asked as he looked up at the sky

"What?" responded Macro, curious as to the intent of the message

"Sorry, something Night said to me once. He wondered how the world got so bad. This has me thinking about that."

Macro stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder, "The world is screwed up, no doubt, but people like us? We help make it better. Let her come, let her try and do something to us. There's eight of us, two of them. They're not stronger, smarter, or better than us. If for no other reason than we don't do things for selfish reasons...you know...except Reyson."

"And Diana."

"Yeah, her too...but the rest are cool!"

The two laughed and looked back at the school, Glyph soon looked back at his friend though, "Thanks Macro."

"No problem. Word of advice, the next time we get a break? Take it. We've been stressed out for too long, especially after that last mission. Relax, you earned it."

"Same to you."

"Oh, I've already got plans, trust me. You just make sure you have some."

"Well...I do have a da-"

A noise interrupted them, and they turned towards the nearest loudspeaker, "Attention all students, this is Headmaster Night. I request all students to meet in the amphitheater. I wish to discuss something with you. Please go now."

Curious, but knowing they needed to leave, they grabbed their stuff and went towards the school.

In the amphitheater, all the teams were together, including GRYD, MEAL, and PRME. Soon after, Night walked on stage, Squire at his side as usual.

Night raised a hand to quiet them all down, "Students! Students! ...thank you. The last few days...have been some of the hardest you'll face. And I won't lie, they have been the most stressful of my time as Headmaster."

The students murmured at this, it was interesting to hear him talk like this.

"You might be wondering, "how so"? Well, I have never had to send out students to a mission like this. Sure, there have been missions near Grimm infested areas, but never have I had to send them out to hunt them. That's not my job, nor my desire. But, the situation demanded it, so it happened. To my relief, and eternal joy, not only did all students make it back, but all missions were a complete success. Furthermore, I have gotten word from several competent sources that all Grimm activity in the kingdom of Vale has stalled. We are safe."

The amphitheater erupted into applause and screams as the students enjoyed their accomplishment. Night too smiled at this, and only after a while did he quiet them down.

"Yes, you deserve that jubilation. But, you must remember, this is not permanent, the Grimm will return, and regroup. But for now, enjoy this. To that end, given that the last few days have been stressful, to say the least, I have decided to...speed up your next trip to Vale. You can all go tomorrow, do the staff a favor and unwind, relax, and enjoy each others company. But don't slack off today! Your classes will still be on, and your teachers will hold you to a standard. So, do well in classes today, then relax tomorrow. Dismissed.

The students slowly dispersed, and the day began.

After classes were all said and done, the students retired to their rooms for the most part. In the room of Team GRYD, Diana, Yasmine, and Glyph were all working on things when a knock on the door came.

"I'll get it." said Diana with a spring in her step.

"Thanks." said Glyph and Yasmine in unison, which prompted a smile at the other

Diana opened the door to see Leilani looking at her, both were surprised to see the other, but both quickly regained their polite composure.

"Hello." said Diana as kindly as she could

"Hi Diana, is...Glyph here?"

"Oh, sorry, you just missed hi-"

She suddenly vanished, making Leilani jump back in shock. She jumped again when Glyph suddenly appeared in the doorway, "Hi Leilani, sorry about that."

Leilani breathed a sigh of relief at this, "Oh, thank goodness, I thought something bad happened to her."

"Not yet."

"Heh, oh...you're serious."

Glyph turned to look back into the room, and gave Diana with a glare, she glared right back, "It wasn't very nice what she did. In fact, let's talk in the hallway. Yasmine?"

"Yeah?" she replied curious

"Make sure she doesn't do anything."

"With pleasure."

Glyph nodded to her and left the room, Yasmine summoned her drones and pointed them all at Diana, who rolled her eyes at this, "I'm not going to do anything."

"I know. But I got an order from my leader, so I'll follow it to the letter. That's bad for you on multiple levels."

"No kidding."

In the hallway, Glyph and Leilani walked for a bit until they were away from most doors, "Sorry again about that Leilani."

"It's ok Glyph," she said slightly embarrassed

"No, it's not."

"Thank you for saying that."

"You're welcome. So, what's up?"

Leilani did her best to look at Glyph with confidence, "Well, we have the chance to go to Vale tomorrow. Would you...you know...like to get that ice cream?"

He smiled, "Nothing would make me happier right now."

"That's...that's very kind to say."

"It's true. And Headmaster Night said to enjoy each others' company. So, I want to enjoy yours."

Leilani blushed intensely, and lowered her face to hide it , "I...feel the same. Would you like to just meet in town?"

"We could just ride together there. If you want."

"I do! I mean, yes, that would be fine. I'll...see you in the morning."

"Ok."

She looked up to see him smiling at her very kindly, she blushed again, smiled back, and went back towards her room. Glyph laughed, then sighed, then vanished.

Back in the room, Yasmine continued to watch Diana like a hawk with her drones. Glyph appeared and marched right towards Diana, "If you ever do that again I will teleport you so far..."

He stopped, and looked back to Reyson's bed, it was undisturbed, Glyph turned to Yasmine, "Where's Reyson?"

Yasmine thought about it, "I'm not sure. He wasn't at dinner come to think of it. Last time I saw him was at class...that's not good."

Outside, on the grounds of Beacon, high up where the cornerstones of the school converged, was Reyson. His phone was in front of him, and he was glaring intently at the screen. But it was his hand that was different, it was shaking.

On the screen, a message read, "I'm free to come to Vale tomorrow. You still want to see me?", but the message wasn't sent yet. Reyson was hesitating, his thumb hovered over the "Send" button. His face twitched, and his teeth bared themselves as he continued to hesitate.

Finally, out of possible desperation, or maybe even an accident, he hit send. His face became somewhat shocked, not sure how or why he did it, but all he could do then was wait.

Minutes passed, and he continued to stare at the screen until the phone pinged, and a message came back, "Of course, cousin. I'll meet you at the port tomorrow."

His hand again began to shake, and his breathing became very erratic. Reyson was scared, and he knew exactly why, and that terrified him even more.

The morning came, and the students slowly made their way out to the rides so that they could be taken to Vale. As Glyph approached the area, he saw Leilani, there waiting for him. To his surprise, she wasn't dressed in her usual attire. Instead, she had a bit more elegant clothing on. Nothing too fancy for a walk in the city, but something she definitely hadn't worn before.

Glyph soon reached her, and he gave her a small bow of the head, "Leilani."

"Glyph," she replied, though now seemingly sad

He noticed this, "What's wrong? Oh, was I supposed to dress up? I'm sorry."

"No! No, you did nothing wrong, I did. I shouldn't have gone all out like this, we're just getting ice cream, but I wanted to look nice for you, and I thought this would be a nice gesture but I didn't think-"

She froze as Glyph's hand cupped her face, her eyes slowly went to him, and he was smiling, "You look great Leilani."

Knowing she would calm down now, he lowered his hand, but continued to smile. She nodded in appreciation, but was too embarrassed to speak. Glyph picked up on this.

"Shall we go?"

"Yes! I mean...let's."

With that, the two went towards one of the carts and rode into town.

After being dropped off, the two walked on the sidewalk in town for a bit until they hit the main area. Glyph turned to Leilani, "Any particular ice cream you want?"

"I know a place that served some good stuff the last time we were here. Shall we go there?" she replied with a shrug

"Anywhere you want Leilani."

She blushed slightly, but took lead and began the walk to the parlor. Glyph smiled as she did so, but followed without hesitation.

As they progressed, Glyph continued to look at Leilani, but she didn't return the gesture. He knew what was going on, but didn't want to force the issue yet, so he did what he did best and remained silent. Eventually, they made it to the ice cream place that Leilani liked. This made her light up, and she rushed ahead to get her order, Glyph followed suit. There was a small line, but they happily waited for it to work itself out.

Sure enough, the line ended, and Leilani stepped up, "Hello, I would like one mint cup cone please, two scoops. And he'll have...uh..."

Seeing her get nervous Glyph stepped in, "Chocolate, also two scoops."

The man bowed to them and got them their cones. Once done, he handed it to them, and Glyph handed him the payment before turning to Leilani, "Shall we sit down and enjoy these?"

"Yeah...that'd be great..." she said softly

Still not wanting to press the issue yet, Glyph nodded and guided her to a nearby table. They sat down and started to eat their ice cream. But as a minute passed, then two, Glyph noticed that though Leilani was enjoying her ice cream, she was still very sad.

"Why are you sad, Leilani?"

"What? I'm not..."

She was stopped by Glyph's look, which read that he wasn't buying it, which shut her down, and made him shake his head, "Didn't you want to go out with me?"

"I did! I mean, I do...it's just...I've done everything wrong from the moment we met up."

He looked at her seriously, "You've done no such thing."

Leilani smiled at his reassurance, "Thanks, but I've barely considered you in any decision I've made. How I dressed up, whether you wanted to come to Vale or not, I don't even know if you like ice cream!"

"Clearly, I do."

"You're right, it's just...I guess I don't know you that well, and I'm sad that I asked you out before getting to know you better."

Glyph sighed, "Oh Leilani. Uh...I'm going to ask you a series of yes or no questions. Answer honestly, ok?"

Confused, but willing to play along, she nodded, "Ok."

"Am I reliable?"

"Of course! I mean, yes."

"Am I a good friend?"

"Yes."

"Am I a good person?"

"Yes."

"Do I help those in need?"

"Yes."

"Do I protect those I call friends?"

"Yes!"

"Am I handsome?"

"Yes...oh, well played." she said with a smile after catching herself.

He smiled as well, "Wanted to keep you are your toes. The point is. You do know me, you just don't know the little things. But that's not on you, that's on me. I was always a quiet kid, even before Macro knew me."

"So I hear."

"Good, then know you've done nothing wrong. I would like to think that you asked me out about because I'm a good person, or at least am trying to be, and you like being around me. Is that accurate?"

"Yes, very much so."

"Then, use this opportunity to try and get to know me better."

"How?" she asked honestly

"Ask me something about myself," he said with a shrug, "I promise I won't lie to you."

"That's...a lot of leeway."

"I trust you. Now please trust me."

"I've trusted you since we first met." she said blushingly

"Then you should have no problems asking me about myself. Go ahead."

He leaned back and ate his ice cream, and waited for Leilani to ask her question.

Across town, near the docks of Vale, Reyson leaned against a building, he was antsy, he had his arms crossed, and his fingers danced on one of his arms. What's more, his breathing was intense, as if he was itching for something to happen, but it didn't, and it made him more agitated.

At one point, he became so agitated that he bared his teeth in rage, and then made to leave. As he did though, a sonic boom rang out, making him stop instantly. He turned to see a small silver and gold colored ship descend from the sky, and land right at the docks.

The ships arrival made everyone in the nearby facility turn their heads, it was clear they hadn't seen a ship like this before. For Reyson though, it just made him nervous.

Soon, the door to the ship lowered, and a single girl, with a male attendant on both sides of her, descended from it into Vale. The girl was short, but very pretty. Her golden hair went down to her shoulders, her eyes meanwhile were very clear, almost reflective in their purity. As for her garb, it was refined, yet very elegant, not unlike the outfit her mother wore when she came to Beacon, but this one was more suited for walking the streets, and wasn't meant for presentation.

Though her eyes focused on what was in front of her, she couldn't help but notice all of the people talking amongst themselves as she walked by. After reaching the main walk area she noticed Reyson, and changed her path to meet him. Reyson righted himself, but didn't move closer to her, making her come to him.

The two were soon standing across from each other, both with a look of scanning upon their family member, but for different reasons.

Reyson gave a small smile, "Hello Arianna, you always could turn heads."

"Hello Reyson, I'm glad you came, and that you contacted me." she said with a smile of her own

"I almost didn't."

"I'm sure. I'm glad your better instincts took over then."

"Don't push it. You asked for a chance, you're getting it."

"I'm grateful, but I wish you would stop looking at me like an enemy, I'm not like the rest of our family. You know that."

"Do I? Do I, Arianna? Because I remember you doing some things to me just so you could please your mother."

"That's not true."

"Yes it is!" he roared, making a few people turn to them before slowing moving on

Arianna got nervous from the attention, "Reyson, if we're going to argue, can we at least do it in private? I reserved us a suite in a nearby restaurant."

"Hmph, Heron influence at its finest. Ok, let's go."

"No."

This made him look at her in confusion, "You just said you wanted to do this in private."

"I do, but I want something from you first."

"And that would be?"

"I want a hug." she said simply, with purity in her expression

"Excuse me?"

"I want a hug, like we used to every day we saw each other. I want a hug from my cousin. A real one Reyson!"

He looked at her with contempt, but it melted when he saw the longing in her eyes, and the slow raising of her arms. Reyson sighed, then embraced his cousin with a genuine hug. After a few seconds they released, and Arianna smiled at him.

"See? Was that so hard?" she asked

"Can we just go? Please?"

"Of course, cousin."

She wrapped her arm around his and then walked with him down the street, the attendants following close behind.

Back at the ice cream parlor, Glyph looked at Leilani and shook his head, "Leilani?"

Leilani was focused on her ice cream, but then snapped out of it as she heard her name, "Yeah?"

"You haven't asked me a question yet."

"Oh, sorry...I'm just not sure what to ask."

"Well, how about I ask you a question first, maybe that'll break the ice and calm you down?"

"That'd be great."

"Ok, when did you first realize you wanted to do art? I know about the ceiling incident, but was that the real start?"

Leilani buried her face in her free hand, "Not that story! So embarrassing..."

Glyph laughed, "We all have embarrassing stories, Leilani."

"I bet you don't."

"I have plenty."

"Tell me one?"

At her question he smiled, and Leilani immediately got flustered, motioning with her hand to ignore the question, "Oh! I'm so sorry, that's too personal! You don't-"

Quick as a flash, Glyph grabbed Leilani's hand and pinned it to the table. Her eyes went from him, to the now interlocked hands on the table. She was stunned, and Glyph used that to his advantage.

"I was a troublemaker in my youth." he said simply

"You?" she replied in disbelief

"Yeah, I was."

"I...I don't believe it."

"Believe it. Though to be fair, it's not exactly what you think."

"What was it then?"

Glyph slowly released her hand and leaned back in his chair, staring at his ice cream as he recalled his memories, "My parents...well, they were ones who were patient, to a fault. They would...wait for things to happen, instead of trying to make them happen. This included...getting me to talk."

Leilani smiled, "You were a quiet kid? Shocker."

"You misunderstand, it wasn't that I was quiet, I just wouldn't talk. There was a time when my parents thought me a mute."

"Wow."

"Yeah. Anyway, I eventually spoke, but rarely. It just...didn't register that I should talk more. This meant I didn't get a lot of friends in my home village. I didn't mind actually. I probably wouldn't have been a good one."

"I don't believe that."

He laughed, "Time changes people Leilani, you and I are both proof of that. Don't base who I am, on who I was. I was very different back then. Especially when I met him."

"Him?" she asked intrigued

"They called him...Brick."

Glyph stared at his ice cream again, and the world melted around him as his memories filled him. In his memory, he was much young, he was playing with some mud, the same color as his ice cream. Glyph was much younger, only a handful of years old.

As he played in the mud, a noise caught his ears. He looked up to see a group of kids running in fear. When Glyph turned to see why, he saw a large boy chasing after him. Despite being a child, he was muscular, but what got Glyph's attention was his skin. It was rough, and covered in a reddish stone of sorts. He looked at the skin at curiosity, the boy not noticing Glyph was there.

"That's right, run! That'll teach you to mess-" the boy shouted before noticing Glyph, "What are you looking at punk?"

Glyph didn't respond, he just continued to look at him. The boy stomped over, and towered over Glyph, but again, Glyph didn't respond.

This only made the boy more furious, "I said, what are you looking at?"

"You." Glyph said softly, face emotionless.

The boy reared a fist and thrust it at Glyph's face, stopping it just inches before hitting him. But Glyph didn't flinch, at all. At this, the boy looked at Glyph in curiosity, then smiled, "What's your name?"

"Glyph."

"They call me Brick. For obvious reasons. You want to hang out?"

"And do what?"

"Hmph, good question. I'm sure we'll find something."

Brick again smiled, and his skin slowly began to change, until he looked much more human. He extended a hand to Glyph, "What do you say?"

Glyph looked at the hand, but then shook it. Brick laughed and wrapped an arm around Glyph, and walked him down a path, "Glyph, this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

Back in the present, Leilani was surprised by what she was hearing, "Wait, you accepted?"

"Why would I not?" asked Glyph with a smile.

"Cause he was a bully!"

"How would I know that?"

"Because your parents would've...oh..."

Glyph nodded, then frowned, "Exactly. Because of my parents 'patience', I didn't learn things at an early age. They wanted me to 'express myself' before I could learn the finer things of this world. So when I met Brick, I didn't know he was a bully. I didn't know that what he did was wrong. So when he offered to hang out with me, I had no reason to say no."

Leilani became saddened by this, "I'm so sorry Glyph."

"Don't be, nothing you could've done. Ironically, it wasn't as bad as you're probably thinking."

"Oh?"

The memory returned to Glyph, and Brick was talking at length with the younger Glyph, who was listening intently.

"You see, looking back, it's easy to think that Brick was using me for something. But honestly, he wasn't. He saw in me someone who didn't look at him with bias. Someone who would never judge him. And he was grateful. But...he also saw a blank slate, something he could mold...and he did."

"He taught you to be a bully?" asked Leilani

"Not so much. He was the muscle, and he loved that. He taught me...he taught me how to screw with people."

"I'm sorry?"

"Mentally, how to screw with them mentally. Brick had a reputation for violence, but for a kid, he was very adept at reading people. He taught that to me. He taught me...the detailed ways of life. How to read body language and facial emotions, he learned that by watching his parents. He taught me how to tell a truth while also concealing a lie, and vice versa. And, though I didn't need help in this, he taught me how to use my words wisely. More concisely. Or in other words..."

"How to use five words instead of ten?"

"Exactly. I picked up on all of those quickly. So we moved onto my next lesson."

"Which was?"

"Tightening the screws...as he would say. I was good at the mental parts, but the physical elements I still lacked. I wasn't the fighter I am now, so he used my then lanky frame in another way."

"How?"

"He...uh..."

"What?"

"Brick taught me...how to dance around my opponents."

Leilani burst into laughter, pulling Glyph out of his memory, a sour expression growing on his face. She tried to compose her, but was failing, "Wait, you were a dancer?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. I was." he noted still sour

"Does Diana know about this?"

"No, and I'm asking you not to tell her."

"I won't. Promise."

"Thank you."

"...how good were you?" she teased, failing to contain a smile still.

"I'm not like Diana if that's what you're asking. She's elegant in her moves. Every single move is part of a routine that is...well, beautiful. What Brick taught me was...well, more improvised. Moving from moment to moment. I would juke, slide, twist, but put personality into it. What little I had anyway. It would throw them off balance, and I would capitalize on that."

"Is it sad that I want to see that?"

"Yes, so don't ask. It's not something I'm proud of."

"Ok, so, what happened next?"

Glyph sighed, and closed his eyes, and the memories began to play once more, this time overlapping one another in a sequence that spanned a long time.

"I was with Brick for two years. We did...a lot of things. A lot of bad and embarrassing things. But again, I didn't know better. The other parents and elders tried to talk to my parents, but, they didn't listen. They would say, 'he'll grow out of it.' But I never did, cause I didn't know better. In a way, Brick taught me more than my parents ever did, even to this day."

"That's...I'm sorry."

"Again, nothing you could've done."

"Well, I'm going to guess you grew wise or something, because you're here now."

"Close. I did grow wise, but not until Brick left."

"He left?"

"Moved away. His dad got a position in another town. I didn't understand it at first. I thought he was coming back. When I realized he wasn't, I tried to make friends with the other kids, to try and get back what I lost. That's when it hit me."

"What you had done?"

"Yeah."

Young Glyph sits in his room alone, tears in his eyes, but his expression still blank.

"I had hurt them, I understood that at last. it was...painful. I went to my parents the next day, and my 'rebirth' began.

Still at the cafe, Glyph had finished his ice cream, Leilani had as well, but she still watched Glyph with curious eyes, "I recall on one mission you said you became a Huntsman because of desire. Was your desire...?"

"To be a better person? Yeah." he said softly, "It was my mother who suggested it actually. I didn't know what I wanted to be. She felt I could do good at it, so I tried."

"Do you regret your time with Brick?"

"No."

This took her aback, "Really?"

He nodded, "Really, I told you, he taught me a lot, and despite what we used it for, I still use a lot of it today. My skills are good, and Macro even helped me enhance them more. I can read people a block away, tell you how they feel, know the meaning of their words. It's very hard to lie to me, or to pull a fast one on me. Primrose can tell you that. Also, it helps me keep a certain partner of mine in line..."

Glyph smiled, and Leilani laughed, "Yeah, Diana is a handful."

"In EVERY way. But my skills keep me aware of what she does, like what she did yesterday to you. I heard how her voice got forced when she greeted you, I knew it was you there without her saying your name."

"Wow."

"So yeah, I learned under bad circumstances. But, I use it to my advantage now. I do better now. I try to anyway."

Though hesitating at first, Leilani grabbed his hand and looked at him with kindness, "You do."

"Thanks Leilani."

"I do have a question though, what was the embarrassing part again?"

"The dancing, it just took a while to get to that part."

The two looked at each other, then burst out laughing.

Elsewhere in Vale, Reyson and Arianna sat in a very elegant suite in a restaurant. As Reyson looked around he could see all the elegance and art that would make this a haven for the elite in the world, he scoffed at it. Arianna meanwhile seemed quite comfortable, and happily looked at the menu in front of her at the table they sat at.

"I've wanted to come to this restaurant for some time, I hear they have quite a selection," she noted as she observed the menu.

"Let's hope, I would hate to think you spent good money on bad food," Reyson said bluntly.

"Oh Reyson, please drop your anger, I just want to have a meal with you."

Reyson made to speak, but a look of sadness from Arianna disarmed him, and he quickly grabbed a meal and put it up to block her eyes. He continued to look at the meal, but his frustration grew back up, "Seriously? So many options and nothing good to eat?"

"Is the cafeteria at Beacon so much better?"

"Yes. It's free first off, and they try and have a good variety of edible foods because they know they have to accommodate a lot of students. This? This is for...umm..."

"Upper class snobs?" suggested Arianna.

Reyson lowered his menu to look at her, she was smiling at him in a knowing way, making him smirk before he put the menu back up, "You said, I didn't."

"Indeed."

Silence enveloped the two as they continued to read the menus, but Arianna got more and more antsy with each passing minute. Soon, she put down her menu and looked right at him, "Are you really not going to ask about the family?"

"Why would I?"

"Not even about your mother?"

With sudden quickness Reyson slammed down his menu on the table, and glared intensely at his cousin, who adapted a stone expression, as if to deflect the anger being sent her way.

Reyson breathed heavily for a while, before his anger melted away, and becoming very sad, "How is she?"

Arianna mirrored his sad expression, "She's...reclusive...ever since you left for Beacon. She honestly spends most of her time in the library."

"Mom always did like reading."

"I recall a time when you liked it too."

Reyson's smirk returned, "Ha! You didn't remember the finer details then, I read only certain books. History mainly, the tales of battles and wars. I enjoyed them...until they too were taken away from me for my "re-education"."

Anger returning, Reyson picked up his menu to hide his face. But he soon noticed his hands were shaking, and he again slammed his menu on the table and looked at his cousin, "Why are we here Arianna? The truth!"

She didn't respond at first, choosing instead to study her cousin for a bit. Soon though, she sighed, and looked at him with honest eyes, "I'm trying to understand."

"Understand what?"

"What they did to you!" she shouted back in reply

Arianna's outburst stunned Reyson, he wasn't expecting this. She was stunned too by her anger and quickly composed herself.

"You've noted for years now that you are different from the rest of the family, but I never understood it. And when you said you were being "re-educated" and other colorful terms you used I thought you were just mad at the idea of being taught more. I thought you were being stubborn. But recently, I started to remember things differently. Or maybe more accurately, I started to remember more about things in the last five years or so."

"And you don't understand these new details?" asked Reyson knowing the answer.

"No. I don't. At first, I asked mother, in a roundabout way of course. She's very...displeased about your last encounter with her."

"Glad I did something right."

She chuckled, "Oh Reyson. Anyway, I tried to understand her point of view, but it just didn't line up with what I remembered. So, I decided to go to the source."

"Color me intrigued, cousin. What do you want to know?"

"How far...how far did they push you? To...be like a Heron?"

"Very far."

"Please...tell me how far."

Reyson sighed angrily, and turned his head so his anger wouldn't be directed at her, after a bit, he grunted and smirked, "Let me ask you a question first. How old do you think I was when I noticed something different about me?"

The question took her aback, and she was forced to think about it for a while, "I remember a distinct change around your 13th birthday. You were...angrier after that. I remember mother thinking it was a bad case of puberty.

"Ha! If it only was that simple."

"Indeed. Well, if it wasn't that, then when?"

"When I was around...8 years old."

"What happened then?"

"I asked a question."

"What question?"

"...why not?"

"Exactly, why not tell me?"

"No, that was the question, "why not?""

Arianna tried to grasp what he meant, but only got more confused, "I...I don't understand."

"It was during one of our lessons. You, me, and Rafael were hearing another of your mothers lessons about peace in the world...I'll never forget it."

Reyson stares at an empty glass near him, he starts to fade back into his memories.

Nearly a decade in the past, Reyson and Arianna, along with another boy, this one silver-haired, were sitting in front of Swann, who was reading out of a book to them.

"Our ancestor notes that only through peace can truly joy be obtained. For life can only be freed and enjoyed through peace, never through violence."

As she stopped and smiled at the children, an odd look came upon Reyson's face. He seemed to struggle to find the right words, but then looked up at Swann and said, "Why not?"

Swann wasn't paying attention when he posed the question, but righted the act by addressing him, "I'm sorry, what did you ask Reyson?"

"Why not?"

"Why not what?"

"Why can't violence be the answer? I mean, you say that we must have peace, but you've also admitted that between the humans, Faunus, and Grimm that there's a lot of hate in the world. You even said the Grimm are monsters, and must be taken seriously. So...why not use violence against them? Wouldn't we be saving lives by killing them?"

"It's not that simple Reyson. Violence begets violence. It's easy to do, but hard to stop once you've begun. That's why we practice the acts of peace here in the Heron household, so that we may show a better way."

"But the Grimm can't understand us, right?"

"Well, yes, technically that's true. But-"

"Then if they can't understand peace, why would we practice it on them?"

Swann smiled at this, "We wouldn't. We instead will focus on trying to spread peace to both humans and Faunus, for if we can stop the hatred in their hearts, the Grimm will not be attracted to them. Do you understand?"

Reyson thought it over, and nodded, "Yeah, that makes sense."

"I'm glad. Now, let's move-"

"But, didn't our ancestor also say that the deepest of hatreds are the hardest to stop? So by that reasoning, isn't it almost impossible to try and create peace when it's clear it won't last? For there will always be humans who hate Faunus, and vice versa? To that end, wouldn't trying to make them give up violence be a death sentence to them all?"

His flurry of questions rattled Swann, who had to fight to keep a blank expression, "All very good questions. If you will Reyson, I will answer them, but not right now. I wish to continue the lesson. Ok?"

Sad, but understanding, he nodded, "Yes, Aunt Swann."

Still a bit rattled, but content Reyson wouldn't object again, she continued the lesson. But, Reyson's expression remained the same, for though the lesson continued, his questions continued to haunt his thoughts.

Back in the present, the older Reyson now held up the glass he was looking at, and held it in front of his eye, as if to try and prove something to Arianna, "She never answered my questions for the record. Not to any degree of justification. But, that was the start."

"Of your re-education?" asked Arianna with a sad expression

"Yeah. It didn't start immediately. Apparently, some of our other family members had thoughts like this before. But, unlike them, mine didn't stop. Every lesson seemed to bring new questions, new holes in their logic, it just mounted. You were right about one thing, after puberty hit I changed. That's when the bloodlust started. It turned my curiosity into anger, and rage. That's when things really got out of hand. Their tactics cut deeper, their "desire" to see me become them became more intense. By the time I got the chance to register for Beacon? Heh, you were all lucky I left peacefully."

Now bitter, Reyson put the glass down hard on the table, his eyes flaring with anger and rage, Arianna cycled through emotions of her own, trying to think of which one to use on her cousin, "I'm so sorry Reyson, I didn't know. I know you're opposed to it, but you really should come home. Your mother and father are-"

"HE...is not...my father. Don't tow the line, Arianna, you know he's not."

"Your mother then, do it for her. Tell them what you told me, but not like you did in that argument before you left. Do it like this."

"Heh, like a Heron?"

"Yes, even if only for a few minutes. Contain it, just long enough to show that you are still our blood, and that they should take you seriously. Like I am now. I want to help you cousin."

She reached out and put her hand on his, and smiled with compassion, Reyson returned the gestures as best he could, "I appreciate that Arianna, and I'm glad someone is trying to understand me. But you still don't see the big picture."

"What's that mean?"

"That argument the family had with me, it wasn't just about me leaving for Beacon, it was about me being out their reach. They wanted me to go to the school of their choice, your school in fact, because they knew they could keep a closer eye on me. I overheard them. They noted that if I didn't fall in line at the school they would...they would "arrange" for me to be brought back. Permanently. I heard this and raced to that computer to send a message to Night, and he gave me an answer within an hour. And I made sure after that, that I would be away from them so they couldn't try anything. It's not that I don't want to go home Arianna, it's that I can't. Cause if I do? They won't let me leave. Ever."

Silence engulfed the two, each one lost in their own thoughts. Reyson didn't talk again, instead he picked up the menu and focused on it. Arianna soon did the same.

Some time later, and back on the streets of Vale, Glyph and Leilani happily walked a path through the town. Leilani was much more relaxed, and was talking with Glyph more freely, and her happiness showed through her expression, as did Glyph's.

Leilani laughed as they continued down the path, "So after the mural I asked my parents for some coloring utensils, then...well, Yasmine told you the rest."

"Yep. Colorful ceiling."

"She loves rubbing that story in my face."

"That's what sisters do, so I'm told anyway."

"True."

They looked at each other and again laughed. Silence crept between them, but this time it was ok. Leilani eyed Glyph for a bit, then slowly reached out and interlocked her hand with his. She smiled purely at him, and he returned the gesture.

Suddenly though, Glyph's expression changed, to one of anger, but he quickly changed it back before Leilani saw and said, "So, where to next?"

She thought about it, "Let's just walk around town, enjoy the weather a little more. That ok?"

"That sounds wonderful."

With another smile to the other, they walked down the path some more. After a bit though they came upon a restaurant, and a look at it made Leilani stop, "Isn't that Reyson?"

Glyph stopped and turned, sure enough, Reyson and Arianna were exciting the restaurant, arm in arm like before, this floored both Glyph and Leilani.

"Yeah, yeah that is," he said perplexed.

"Who's the girl? Wait, is that another Heron?"

"Looks like it."

"I thought Reyson hated his family."

"He does."

"So...why is he with her and not raging? They seem...close."

He eyed the two suspiciously for a while, trying to get a read on them, but the angle didn't allow him to see much, "I don't know, something is off though."

Leilani looked at him worried, "Are you going to talk to him about it?"

"I'll think about it. With his family, I have to be careful."

"Agreed. Come on, let's walk in the opposite direction of them."

"...good idea."

Still curious, but not wanting to dwell, Glyph and Leilani left.

At the docks, Reyson escorted Arianna to her ship, the attendants were preparing the ship for takeoff.

"I'm sorry we couldn't spend more time together Reyson, I would've liked to meet your team," said Arianna calmly

"...maybe next time," replied Reyson with no emotion.

"I hear this Glyph is quite a fighter. Rumors say he's as good as you, if not better."

"Ha! He's better. Stop trying to butter me up, Arianna."

"I'm sorry, just trying to make more conversation before we leave."

"Yeah, right."

He looked away from her, conflict in his eyes. Arianna tried to gain his gaze, but he wouldn't allow it, and so she sighed. Before she could make another attempt, an attendant approached. "My lady, the ship is ready for takeoff."

"Thank you," she said with a small bow, "prepare for launch, I'll be in shortly."

With a bow of his own, the attendant left, leaving the two alone. Arianna reached out and used her hand to turn Reyson's head, forcing him to look at her.

"I know you didn't like it, but I am glad we talked, and I do hope we can do this again."

Reyson fought back several urges, but managed to remain calm and say, "It wasn't as bad as I feared it would be."

"What were you expecting? An armed guard?"

"Yes."

"Oh cousin. Well, I'm glad I defied your expectations at least, it's a start."

She gave Reyson a graceful curtsie, and he responded with an elegant bow, which made her smile brightly. With that, she entered the ship.

Before she got to far though, Reyson called out, "Arianna?"

"Yes?" she asked curiously

"Tell my mother...I miss her."

"Why don't you tell her yourself? You have a phone, right?"

"You know why I can't call her. Just do this for me, please?"

"Oh course, dear cousin, you have my word I will do it."

Pleased, Reyson smiled and bowed his head to her, and she did likewise. With that, the ship closed up, and then slowly took off into the air. Once it was gone though, Reyson's smile faded, and he shook his head sadly, "I was right.'

Later that night, at Beacon, Diana stood alone in GRYD's room. She looked longingly out the window. Eventually though, she closed her eyes and lowered her head with a smile, "How was your date?"

Behind her, Glyph appeared, and he was not happy, "I should ask you your opinion on that. After all, you were there."

"I thought I had been caught, couldn't be sure though."

"I sensed you twice, but when me and Leilani held hands on the street you moved into my view, bad move. I would've considered my first two senses paranoia, but not that."

She turned to face him, her own expression one of disapproval to match his, "What do you want me to say?"

"There's nothing you can say, Diana. But plenty that I can say." he spat out with venom

"By all means."

"I am tired of these games Diana. I told you before what you needed to do to earn my affections, and I thought that when I admitted that I cared about you that we were past these petty games, apparently not!"

Diana tried to speak up, but a motion from Glyph shut her down.

"I don't know why you like me. Truly. I don't. Is it my looks, my skills, my personality, I don't know. But what I've always known, is that you view me as a prize. And that ticks me off. I've tried to be your partner, you take it too far. I try and be your friend, you misinterpret what I do as something more. I scold you repeatedly for this crap, and you don't listen!"

"I'm sorry."

Glyph laughs at this, "I want to believe that, but I can't. You've said sorry before, and have not lived up to what that word means. Actions, Diana, they speak louder than words, always! I've lived my life that way in many aspects. I am tired of having these talks. This is the last one. I am happy with Leilani, and she is happy with me. I don't where it'll go. It might end soon, it might not. But if you do anything to her, or try to do something to us to break us up? You. Will. Regret it. Am I clear?"

"Yes," Diana answered without emotion.

He scoffed, "I want to believe that too."

Before Diana could respond to that, he teleported away, leaving her alone again. She again turns to the window, but this time looks out angrily and punches the wall, leaving a small crack in it. Diana looks at her hand and grows a frown.

Far away, in a chapel like home, Swann Heron is playing a harp in her room. Her bedroom is very elegant, just like her. Everything has a place, but everything also has an elegance to it. A knock on her door gets her attention. She stops playing and turns to it, "Come in."

The door opens, and Arianna appears, Swann becomes alight with joy and goes to hug her daughter, who happily reciprocates, "Welcome home, my child."

"Blessing to you, mother." Arianna says with a smile

"How was your time with Reyson?"

"As expected, though with a few surprises."

"Oh, like what?" Swann asks curiously

"He knows that Ashen isn't his father, and apparently, the reason he went to Beacon wasn't just to break tradition, he heard a conversation about you confining him here if he got out of line at my school." Arianna replied

"Ah, that makes sense. We often wondered if he heard that conversation, but we could never prove it. As for his father, that was natural, I would've been surprised if he hadn't figured it out."

"You should've seen his anger when I brought him up."

"I can imagine, to live your life thinking your family is your family, only to find out that only half of that is true. I do weep for him, though he'll never believe that."

Swann turned away sadly, a look curiosity grew on Arianna's face though, "Mother? Did you know Reyson's real father?"

"Hmm? Oh, no I did not. Your grandfather did though, offhandedly mind you, it was him who made sure that man didn't come home with my sister. Oh, Poppy, why did you do it?"

"Mother?"

"Sorry, darling, just dreading what's coming. Which brings me to, will Reyson ever come home?"

"No. As long as he feels he'll be a prisoner here, he'll never come back. Not even for his mother."

A touch of anger formed on Swann's face, but she quickly banished it away, "In a way, this might serve us better. His influence won't be visible, or audible, which will allow us to continue our noble goal."

"Peace to all of Remnant." said Arianna with pride

"That's right my beautiful daughter. I thank you for doing this deed for the family."

"Not a problem mother, I do care for my cousin, I wish I could've helped him grow into the Heron he's meant to be."

"One day, he will. One day."

*credits*


	19. Season 02 Chapter 4

GRYD Season 02 Chapter 4: What Love Means

Weeks went by in the blink of an eye at Beacon Academy, the students were consumed with their classes, as well as the daily routines they found themselves in. For the members of Team GRYD and MEAL though, there was a spot of tension between certain members. Mainly, Glyph, Leilani, and Diana.

Every since Glyph's scolding of Diana, she barely spoke to him, and at times outright refused to look at, or even acknowledge Leilani. At first, the teams were fine with letting things work out, but the more time that went on, the more tense things got.

After a class one day, Macro motioned to Glyph that they needed to talk, Glyph followed him outside so that they wouldn't be overheard.

"What's going on Glyph?" asked Macro once sure they were secured from eavesdroppers

"With what?" answered Glyph in his typical manner

"What else? Diana."

Glyph laughed and rolled his eyes, "Tch, Diana."

"This funny to you?"

"What? You never threw a temper tantrum when you were a kid?"

"Once or twice, I grew out of it though."

"Diana hasn't. She doesn't like me and Leilani being together."

Macro eyed him intensely, then shook his head, "You're not telling me everything."

"She...spied on me and Leilani during our first date. I caught her, and then scolded her when we were alone. As you can see, she's mad."

"Think you can patch things up?"

"I've tried, she doesn't want to. Let it go, it doesn't affect you."

"Doesn't affect me? Your partner is mad at you for dating my partner. I see the looks and glares she gives Leilani, which makes her sad. The Lovers and Yasmine in turn direct glares back at Diana, Reyson's loving the conflict like only he can, you're not getting involved, which leave me to play mediator! It affects me!

Glyph looked at his friend for a bit then sighed, "You're right, I'm sorry. But the only way I know that Diana will stop is if I break up with Leilani. Because then I'm free game. Which is what she wants. I won't do that."

This time it was Macro who sighed, "Nor would I ask you to. But we do need to figure out a way to resolve this, peacefully I mean. Without serious emotional scars."

"Heh, with Diana, it's the physical scars I'd worry about."

With a laugh, Glyph walked away. Macro shook his head in disappointment but joined him.

A few hours later, The Lovers exited a class and walked down a hallway. Like they usual did, they were arm in arm, and chatting happily as they passed by other students.

Upon entering a particular section of hallway, they approached a group of three male students talking amongst one another. They were dressed in similar uniforms, but of different colors. As The Lovers got into their view, the three huddled closer together so that they could talk without being heard.

"I get sick of seeing those two." said the boy in the red uniform.

"They're always fawning over each other, disgusting," noted the one in blue

Aaron and Erin passed by them, the three stopped talking as they did, when they were a few steps away they leaned back in.

"The way they talk and act, it's like they're already married, pathetic." followed up the one in yellow, "It'd be a funny story though, the green pompous fool and the pink-haired bimbo."

The three laughed, but unbeknownst to them, Aaron heard them, and quick as a flash pulled out one of his crossbows, and fired three rounds, one into each of them. Unprepared, the three took the hits right on the chest, and were knocked to the ground.

The hallway went quiet as they saw what happened, Aaron looked at them all with distaste, while Erin smiled smally at what had occurred.

Aaron kept his crossbow aimed at them and slowly approached, his expression unchanged, "Word to the wise, some of us have good ears. I had younger siblings who would try to whisper in order to sneak stuff past me. It didn't work then, and it doesn't work now. You're lucky, actually. The rounds I put in you were meant to stun. Insult my love again though, I can't guarantee that."

He flashed an evil smile, then turned to the others in the hallway and shrugged, "Anyone else?"

Several students shook their heads quickly, others avoided his gaze. Content, Aaron put away his weapons and rejoined Erin, who happily took his arm when he offered it, "Haven't see you do that in a while."

"Well, no one has been foolish enough to insult you while you were with me."

"I know I shouldn't, but I love how far you go to defend me. All of me."

Aaron struck a pose as he walked, "It is a matter of honor! If I didn't defend you from words as much as I try to in battle with blades or claws, then I'm not a good boyfriend."

Erin smiled and gripped his arm even tighter, "Oh, trust me, you're a good boyfriend. Let's just hope Night doesn't get you into trouble for this."

"If I must pay the price for defending, I will do so, and I will do it as many times as is needed."

"I love you."

"And I love you."

With a smile to the other, they continued down the hallway.

Later that day, Aaron sat alone in the room of MEAL, he was writing down things on a notebook while gazing at various textbooks on his bed. He continued this for a while until the sound of laughter caught his ears. Aaron rose and went over to a window, as he got a view of the grounds, he saw various students playing with one another. Games of chase, or dodging stones, the lighter things that made him remember that though they're training to be warriors, they're still kids at heart.

His mind and thoughts drifted, and a memory of old formed.

In a small house on the outskirts of a city, a group of children ran around it. They were of different sizes, and their hair colors were all different, yet all similar. The children ran around and around with more and more energy. The door to the house opened, and out stepped a younger Aaron. He looked very different than the Aaron we know now. Aaron's attire was radically different, his hair wasn't slicked up like it usually was either. His expression was not one of confidence, or arrogance, but rather, exasperation as he sees the younger children running around.

The younger Aaron had a book in his hand, he opened it as he sat down on the front step of the house. He read his book as the children continued to play. Occasionally they would stop and try to get Aaron to play with them, but he ignored them, and continued to read his book.

Time went on, and the children continued to play, and Aaron continued to read his book. Eventually though, the door opened again, and a woman stepped out onto the step. She had dark brown hair, much of which was frazzled, which matched her expression. She was exhausted in every way, and it was a miracle that she was on her feet.

As she looked around she got even more tired from watching the children, but it changed when she saw Aaron sitting alone and reading his book.

"Aaron," she said, "why aren't you playing with your brothers and sisters like I asked?"

Aaron didn't look at her, but instead raised his head and pointed at his siblings, "Look, they don't need me to play with them. Besides mother, you asked me to watch over my siblings, not play with them."

"Oh Aaron, that's not what I meant and you know it. Why must you be so exacting?"

"Why must they be so exhausting? Is it so wrong that I want to enjoy my time with my books instead of wasting my energy on them? I want to be a Huntsman, a good one, I can't grow by playing games."

His mother sighed heavily, and sat down on the step next to her son, with kind yet sad eyes she gazed at him, "Do you love me, Aaron?"

Her question made Aaron look right into her eyes with great hurt, "Of course, mother, how could you ask such a thing like that? What son wouldn't?

"You'd be surprised. I ask you because life in this household is anything but easy. Your father works himself to the bone to get us enough money to live. And I work myself to death trying to keep the house up and running, and that means dealing with your siblings. Which, is never easy. You are the eldest Aaron, and as such your father and I look to you for help."

"I don't understand."

With a smile, she grabs his hand, "Love isn't just an emotion, it's an expression of yourself, an action even. What love means, is that sometimes you must do what you need to do for those you care about, even if it doesn't make you happy per se. To go above and beyond to make others happy, or to help them in their time of need, that's what love means. And that's why I asked you, because if you love your mother like you say you do, then you'll help me. Because I need it, dear Aaron. Now more than ever."

Aaron was taken aback by her words, and with meaning put his book down and nodded, "Whatever you need mother."

"Good. Now watch over your siblings, and keep them in line, your father and I will take care of the rest."

Nodding again, Aaron stood up and made his way to his siblings, who jumped for joy as he joined them. Their mother watched for a little while, then rose up and went back inside.

Back in the present, Aaron shook his head and laughed at a joke only he understood. He was pulled from this memory when a knock came at the door.

"Come in," Aaron said with gusto

The door opened, and Squire walked into the room, this took Aaron aback, but he maintained his composure, as did Squire upon seeing him, "Mister Forrest, Headmaster Night wishes to speak with you. Follow me, please."

"As you wish."

Squire led the way, and Aaron followed, he had a smile on his face as they winded through the hallways. He could tell what was coming, yet had no fear of it. Eventually, they made their way to Headmaster Night's office, Night himself was at his usual spot, looking through his window and over the grounds. Squire ushered Aaron in, then left himself.

"What do you have against ninjas Mr. Forrest?" Night asked without turning around

Aaron's smile grew, "I think their color-coating is tacky."

Night laughed then turned around to face Aaron, "It is, isn't it? Then again, you could say the same thing about many of us. I'm sure you get picked on for your ascot."

"From time to time."

"Indeed."

With a shake of his head Night sat himself at his desk, then looked at Aaron with serious eyes, "Do you remember how I said that every student that entered the academy was examined by me?"

"I do, don't know if I believe it though," answered Aaron with a shrug.

"Why not?"

"You let Reyson in."

"Fair enough, but he earned his way in, I can promise you that."

"That's why you're the Headmaster."

"Yes, I must look beyond rumor, hearsay, and other such things to see what is truth, and what is not. For you though, I don't think your record gives you enough credit."

Aaron's smile returns, "How so?"

Night raises a file so Aaron can see it, it has his name on it. He then opens it and flips to a certain page, "Aaron Forrest is one of the brightest students in all of Signal. Wonderful grades, excellent combat skills, and an ability to speak both eloquently yet pointedly."

"I'm flattered."

"There's more. Mr. Forrest however has a crucial flaw, his love for his girlfriend, Erin Flushe. His love blinds him at times, and can make him overemotional. Should anyone try and sleight Ms. Flushe, Mr. Forrest will respond in kind with either an extreme verbal bashing, or in "appropriate" cases, physically attacking other students."

With a blank expression he closed the file and laid it back on his desk, then turned to Aaron, who was still smiling.

"I'm not blind when it comes to Erin."

"Oh?"

"Yes, if I was blind, I wouldn't be able to see how beautiful she is."

"That's not what they meant, and you know that, stopping making light of the situation."

"I don't need to make light of it, I was in the right of it."

"Your "victims" wouldn't agree." noted Night sternly

Aaron's smile faded, a hard expression replaced, "Erin means everything to me. I love her, completely and utterly. I'm sure what Team NNJA told you was only half the story, as all bullies and fools do when trying to turn a situation around. They insulted me and Erin, repeatedly. Called it "disgusting" that we could love each other like this at such a young age. I let that slide, but then they called Erin a "bimbo", that stopped my patience and compassion. And I responded in kind like a good boyfriend should."

Night sighed heavily and strummed his desk with fingers, he tried to get a read on Aaron, who went back to his pompous posture when Night didn't immediately respond, "Be that as it may Mr. Forrest, that doesn't fully excuse you from doing what you did. If you argued with them, I wouldn't have minded. If you grabbed one of them and demanded they apologize for the use of that word, I wouldn't have cared. But you shot three students with your crossbow, and I have to take action."

"You do what you must Headmaster, but no matter your punishment to me, I will not apologize to them for what I did, for I did nothing but protect my love."

"It really isn't an act with you, is it?"

"I'm a great actor, I've played my part well over the years, but I don't act when I'm with her. That file may say that she's my weakness, she's not, she's my strength. She's my reason to keep going, to see the next day, and because of that, I will protect her no matter the circumstance. That's what love means to me."

"Poetic," said Night with a mixed tone, "but again, it doesn't excuse you. I could reprimand you, but I don't think that's the best way to handle this. The head of NNJA has demanded a fight with you in order to reclaim his honor, I'm granting him that wish. You'll fight tomorrow when you're both in Combat Training with Lochen."

"Sounds wonderful, Headmaster," said Aaron with a bow.

"We'll see how wonderful it is, Mr. Forrest, you're dismissed."

With another bow, Aaron left. Night watched him leave, then shook his head when he was gone before going back to the window.

Aaron meanwhile made it back to his team room, upon entering, the others raced towards him, Erin reached him first and hugged him. Aaron smiled as she did, "Glad you missed me."

"I didn't know where you had gone!" she said back with clear relief in her voice, "I tried calling you, but you didn't answer."

"Apologies, my love, I was with Headmaster Night, answering your call would've been...inappropriate for the situation."

"What situation would that be?" asked Macro curious, "Anything to do with your shooting of Team NNJA?"

"Does everyone know about that?"

"It's a school full of teenagers," pointed out Leilani, "it'd be a miracle if someone didn't know."

"Fair point, Leilani. Yes, he wanted to talk to me about what happened."

"And?" asked Erin, now slightly concerned.

Aaron smiled brightly and laughed to wipe away her concern, "The Headmaster was not pleased by what I did, but I explained that it didn't matter whether I was right or wrong, I did what I had to do."

"Oh you... I hope you didn't say it that flamboyantly."

"Not as, but close."

The two laughed together, but stopped when Macro cleared his throat to get their attention, "I know Night, he wouldn't let you off that easily. What's going to happen?"

"I have to fight the head of Team NNJA."

This made Leilani's eyes go wide, "Nanke? Nanke Kunai?"

"He's tough Aaron, he was one of the top students from Vacuo." noted Macro, expression grim, "All of his team were trained in the blistering weather there. They're trained to endure, and that speaks nothing of their skill with their weapons."

"Macro, I appreciate your tactical analysis, but I'll be fine, I'm not pushover either." Aaron replied

"I know, just don't push it. He's going to want serious revenge after what you did to his team. He doesn't want to beat you, he'll want to humiliate you."

"On that, we will have something in common, because I want to humiliate him for what he said to Erin."

"Awww..." said Erin with a smile and a hug, to which Aaron reciprocated.

Leilani giggled, "You two can't help but show your affections, huh?"

Aaron gave her a knowing smile, "You'll get there with Glyph, hopefully."

This made Leilani blush intensely, and she instinctively went to playing with her ears. Macro rolled his eyes and stepped forward to get his attention, "Hey, you need to focus. I want you to beat him, so please, let me tell you what I know about him, ok? That way you'll be ready for him tomorrow?"

"Of course, I trust your advice as my leader, and as my friend."

Aaron gave a very choreographed bow, making Erin and Leliani laugh again, and Macro rolling his eyes again, "You're the limit, now come on."

The next day came, and throughout the school there was a buzz about the matchup that was going to take place. This was only the second time that Headmaster Night chose a battle in practice, and since the previous one of GRYD vs. PRME was a classic, students were eager to see if this next one was going to be the same.

Aaron maintained his pompous nature throughout the beginning of the day, anyone who saw him thought nothing less than he was confident he was going to win. And he was. The other members of MEAL weren't as confident. Erin was worried a little, Leilani thought Aaron wasn't taking it seriously, and Macro wasn't content with Aaron's prep for the match. Still, it wasn't them going into it, it was Aaron, and in his mind, there was no chance he would lose, not with his and Erin's honor on the line.

As the afternoon approached, the students wandered into the training area, Lochen was there, and had his usual grin on his face. But to their surprise, including Aaron's, Headmaster Night was there as well. Unlike Lochen though, he wasn't happy.

The students gathered in, Aaron maintained a presence by the entryway to the battle space as he waited to be summoned.

Once everyone was seated, Night bowed his head to them all, "Hello students, I hope your day is going well. You no doubt have heard, I orchestrated the matchup you're about to see. I don't like doing this, and thus I have only done it once before. This time though, I have made this match to prove a point about my policy about violence against your fellow students."

Aaron smirked at the statement, the other students just murmured.

"Where you are right now is the only place where attacks on your fellow students is allowed. For here, you are training for what is out there. Thus, you need to be pushed to your limits. But only here. I know some of you can wear your weapons inconspicuously, and I allow that. However, if you attack your fellow students, you will find yourself here, or worse. I will not tolerate it."

At the last line, Night turned to Aaron, who still had a smile on his face. Night scoffed slightly and shook his head, "Consider this my one and only warning. Your actions have consequences. Lochen."

"Night," replied Lochen as the Headmaster stepped away, "Alright let's have some fun, ok? Aaron Forest, Nanke Kunai, come on down."

Aaron casually walked onto the battle arena, and loaded up both of his crossbows with Dust bullets. Seconds after he was ready, a puff of smoke appeared, and within it was Nanke. His ninja garb was in full effect, including a mask over his mouth which let his eyes shine powerfully.

He reached behind himself and pulled out a chained weapon with a blade at the tip, he began swinging it in a circle menacingly, "You will pay for the dishonor you put on me."

With a laugh, Aaron raised his crossbows, "Your honor? You lost that the moment you insulted my beloved. What kind of honorable man says such a thing without a thought of repercussions? You think yourself superior? I shall show you true superiority!"

"Foolish last words."

"Says the cliche."

With a roar Nanke launched the chain weapon toward Aaron, pointed end heading straight for him. Aaron sidestepped, knocked the chain away with one hand, and then fired with his freehand crossbow. Nanke quickly retracted his chain and ran away from the bolts. Aaron poured on the pressure, bringing both of his crossbows to bare on the ninja. He continued to fire until he was out of bullets.

Hearing this, Nanke rushed in to strike. He brought his chain weapon to bear on Aaron, who had to think fast in order to dodge, but he did so. After several dodges, he saw an opening and kicked Nanke back. Seizing the opportunity, Aaron reloaded his crossbows and prepared for another volley.

Seeing this, Nanke quickly reached into a satchel on his belt and pulled out a tiny pellet and threw it onto the ground. The pellet exploded, and smoke filled up where Nanke was. Aaron fired into it, but stopped when he saw that he wasn't there.

The pellet continued to pour out smoke, until Aaron was surrounded by it. He held out both his arms, pointed in different directions, and slowly turned both his body and his head so he could be ready for anything.

In the stands, Macro got tense, "Come on Aaron, this is what we prepped for."

Aaron continued to survey the smoke, looking for any sign of an attack. Suddenly, he heard the clinking of a chain, and dodged out of the way just as the kunai chain launched out at him. Once clear of it he fired into the smoke where it came from, but nothing hit, so he stopped. The chain weapon flew back into the smoke, and so Aaron resumed his defensive stance.

Several similar strikes followed this up, each from different locations, making Aaron continually dodge so he wouldn't get hit. From the bleachers, Erin got more and more worried with each strike.

"How is he doing that?" she asked

"Through his Semblance he can blend perfectly into the smoke," noted Macro, discontent also on his face, "he's so good at it that the smoke somehow conceals his footsteps as well. It's an interesting trick, one that made him a prize student at Vacuo."

"How can he beat that?" wondered Leilani, "It's almost like Glyph's teleport."

"Kind of, but Glyph doesn't rely on a substance to make himself move. I told Aaron about the Semblance, he's just waiting for his shot."

Aaron continued to dodge the attacks from Nanke, each time getting more tired. Nanke saw this, and within the smoke, he began to laugh.

"What's wrong? Tired already? I can do this all day until you're exhausted, and then you'll fall."

"About time," said Aaron with a smirk.

"What, you wanted me to explain my attack strategy?"

Aaron laughed and reloaded his crossbows, "No, I just wanted you to stop moving long enough to talk. That way, I could do this."

With great speed and accuracy, Aaron unloaded several rounds into the ground near the smoke. Each blast released a concussive force of energy the blew the smoke away. One of the blasts revealed Nanke's location, and Aaron struck quickly with another blast, sending the ninja flying backwards and rolling onto the ground.

Content with his strike, Aaron faced the crowd and did a bow, to which he got much applause, mainly from Erin, Leilani and GRYD. Macro though refused to clap, as did Glyph.

Happy with the response, Aaron again reloaded his crossbows and faced his opponent, who was rising back to his feet.

"Would you like to stop? Or shall I beat you further?" teased Aaron

"Your arrogance is annoying," bit back Nanke

"So is your talk of honor. You have none. You think what me and Erin have is "disgusting", that's not your judgment to make."

"Perhaps. But it is my right to judge your skill, and frankly, I'm not impressed!"

He again flung out the chain, and again Aaron dodged, but this time, the chain continued until it buried itself into the wall. With a flick of his hand, Nanke flew quickly towards the end buried in the wall, and once close enough to Aaron, let loose a fierce volley of strikes. Aaron was caught off guard by the precision and speed of the close quarters combat, and was unable to dodge.

Seizing an advantage, Nanke kicked Aaron square in the chest, sending him, backwards. He then released his chain from the wall, flung it at Aaron, and wrapped it around his arm.

"GET OVER HERE!" he roared as he pulled Aaron back into close range combat.

The battle lasted here for a few more seconds before Aaron was again kicked away.

Though slow to rise, Aaron did make it back to his feet, he was visibly winded though. He looked up at the stats screen for the matchup, and he saw he was dangerously close to losing. While Nanke was only at half health.

As he tried to straighten himself up, Nanke taunted him, "Yield, it's the right thing to do."

"Never," spat Aaron, "you're not the only one fighting for honor here."

"Noble, yet foolish. I need only land one more attack and you're done. What are you going to do. What could you possibly do to beat me before that happens? Come on Mr. Superior! WHAT ARE YOU GO TO DO?"

The last sentence rang through Aaron's head, but it soon changed into a female's voice, and the words shifted to "What are we going to do?"

Back in the past, Aaron's mother is talking to a man who looks very much like Aaron, it's his father. Both of his parents are in the kitchen of their home, and both looking distraught. Unbeknownst to them, Aaron is nearby, and listening to them intently.

"What are we going to do, Ardan?" his mother asked with clear desperation.

"I don't know, my love, everyone was laid off. I've got some feelers out for possible jobs, but I don't know when they'll bite. Or if they'll bite. We'll just have to hold on until then, " Arden said as he tried to muster a smile.

"How? We got six children who need to be fed. We're barely making do as it is."

"We'll find a way, my love. I promise. We should tell the children though, they'll understand, they'll have to. Hiding it won't help in any way."

"Ok, I just hope they understand, they're so young Arden, would you have understood if you were in their place?"

"I don't know Ciara, but if we lie to them, it'll only make it worse."

"You're right. Keeping them occupied will be a bigger chore than ever though."

"We'll make do, love. We always do. Just remember, the darkest times are when we have to smile the brightest."

Aaron leans in to see his parents, they're holding hands and have their foreheads against the others in a sign of unity. He takes his leave to give them a bit of peace. He goes into his room and paces, muttering words to himself to think of what he needs to do to help his parents.

Eventually, he finds himself in front of a mirror. As he looks into the mirror, he grows a frown, as though he's ashamed of what he sees.

"It's not enough." he mutters to himself.

With a heavy sigh he turns away, and finds himself looking at his closet. Aaron laughs at some of the clothes he sees, but then, his expression changes. It becomes one of curiosity. One of intrigue.

"I wonder..."

He picks through his clothes, stopping every once in a while when something caught his eye. He again mutters wordlessly to himself, until finally, his smile comes out.

"That could work. That could work."

With vigor he rushes out of the room.

Later that day, Arden and Ciara are with their other five children, Aaron isn't present. They tell them the situation they are in, but it's clear that the young ones don't get the message.

"Does that mean we can't get stuff?" asked one of the boys

"Or that we won't eat?" pondered one of the girls

"Of course not my loves," replied Ciara, "it just means we can't go and do a lot of...extra things. And some days we might not be able to do as much as we would like."

"So what do we do?" asked another

"Well," started Arden, "we-"

"I'll tell you what we do, we come together, as a family!" shouted a voice

Confused, they all turned, and to their surprise, Aaron walked into the room, but this time, he looked like the Aaron we know now. His attire is preppy, his hair is slicked up, his pompous smile is on his face, the only thing missing is his ascot.

The parents were especially surprised by his appearance, the kids just snickered at him. Aaron took it in stride though, and began to talk in his pompous voice, "Now is not the time to doubt, now is to the rise! Our parents are in trouble, they need our help, even if they don't want to admit it. The question is, are we willing to help them?"

Responding to this new Aaron, they nodded vigorously, to which Aaron shook his head, "No, I cannot hear you! Will we help our parents?"

The five jumped to their feet and shouted, "YES!"

"Excellent, then we shall begin immediately! To your rooms! I shall join you shortly and we shall plan tomorrow's activities! Now go!"

With haste, the five beat it to their rooms. Once out of earshot, Aaron turned to his parents and dropped the act, "How was that?"

"It was like you were a different person," noted Ciara, still stunned.

Arden laughed, "That was quite a performance, son."

"Thanks," Aaron acknowledged with a bow of the head, "I knew they wouldn't react if I came out as myself. So...I decided to speak their language. More or less."

"But why?"

"Because you need my help. Our help. You can't do this on your own. So, I'll take care of them, and we'll take care of you, while you take care of us. I don't mind acting like I was, it was kind of fun, actually. Besides, if it helps you, that's all that matters. After all, that what love means, right mother?"

Ciara tears up at the echoing of her words, "That's right son, bless you."

"No, bless you mother, father. You've done so much for all of us, now it's our turn. You do what you need to, and I'll do the same. Now..."

Aaron clears his throat and goes back to his pompous posture and attitude, "I will endeavor to make sure the children do not bother you unless necessary. If you need me, I am at your call."

He bowed to them, and then made for the others room, a big smile on his face as he did.

Back in the present, Aaron sheathed his crossbows, slowly got upright, then styled his hair back to its regular position, and did a grand pose and smiled to Nanke.

This unnerved Nanke, who wasn't sure what was happening, "Have you lost it?"

Aaron's smile grew wider, "Hardly, you asked me what I was going to do. Well, when the darkest times come, that's when you must smile the brightest. And that's what I'm doing."

"Fool."

"We'll see. I got one hit to go, huh? Well...try and hit me."

Nanke's face grew into a fierce scowl, "My pleasure."

With a roar he flung his chain out. But this time, Aaron didn't move. Just before chain hit him, Aaron raised his hand, and a shield formed around him. The kunai bounced off instantly. Nanke retrieved it, while Aaron smiled more and more.

"Did you forget?" mocked Aaron in his pompous tone, "I have a Semblance too. I had no need to use it before. But since I only have one hit left, I have no reason to hide it. Still think you can hit that shot?"

"All shields break, that is law!"

Nanke broke his chain in half, and wrapped one end on each on his arms. The chain came alive in a way, and morphed around Nanke's fingers until the tips themselves were gun ports.

Aaron was very surprised by this, "Huh. That's different."

With another roar, Nanke unleashed a wave of bullets at Aaron. His shield held for much of it, but slowly, cracks started to form. Growing serious, he grabbed his crossbows, and aimed one directly at Nanke.

The cracks in his shield continued to grow, but just before it shattered by Nanke's barrage, Aaron let loose a shot of his own. It blasted through the shield, and absorbed the bullets fired at it as it made its way to Nanke. The ninja dodged though, but as he tried to aim at Aaron again, he found himself locked in close quarters combat. Also surprising, was that Aaron no longer had crossbows, but rather, a pair of swords.

Aaron slashed and stabbed at Nanke, putting him on the defensive. A few hit, but many missed because of the ninja's speed. However, because of the barrage, Nanke couldn't counterattack. Jumping high into the air, Nanke retracted his chain and reformed it into one entity. He then unleashed a barrage of his own on Aaron, who happily returned the favor.

The two clashed, each dodging the others attacks, and waiting for an opening to appear. Aaron was the first to see it, and used one of his swords as bait to attract Nanke's attention. After another lunge of his chain weapon, Aaron used one sword to wrap it up, then plunge it into the ground. Rendering it useless.

Now defenseless, as well as taken aback by the technique, Nanke couldn't avoid Aaron's strikes. And with an intense volley, Aaron took him down, and sent him skidding along the ground.

A buzzer filled the amphitheater, signaling Aaron's victory. This was followed by clapping, as Lochen approached the two.

"Well done, Aaron," praised Lochen with a pat on Aaron's shoulder, "I wish I had known you had that in you. I would've put you in here more often. As for you Nanke-"

Before he could finish, Aaron approached Nanke, and used his foot flip him around so he was facing up. Aaron then reformed his crossbow and pointed it at Nanke's face.

"Aaron!" shouted Lochen warningly

Aaron merely held up a finger to signal him to wait, his gaze wouldn't leave Nanke's face.

"If you really are a man of honor, then you know what to say right now."

Nanke bared his teeth, face full of fury, but he relented, "I'm sorry for what I said."

Quick as a flash, Aaron reverted to his casual self and shouted, "Wonderful! See? Was that hard? Could've saved ourselves a lot of trouble had you just done that before. Ha, ha, ha."

With that, he gave a bow to Lochen, who went from stunned to disbelief at Aaron's quick change in personality. He laughed it off soon enough though and motioned him to get going.

The school soon spread with word of Aaron and Nanke's fight. Most were impressed with Aaron's skills, others were terrified of what he might do to them if they insulted Erin in his presence.

Aaron cared not though for what they thought or said, he kept his smile as bright as it could be as he walked the hallways with Erin and the others. For in his mind, there was nothing else to talk about.

Later on, after things wound down, Aaron and Erin found themselves back in their room. The others hadn't returned yet.

This pleased Aaron, "Alone at last! I thought we'd never get a moment to ourselves after what happened today."

Erin laughed at the statement, "Are you surprised? You put on quite a show today."

"I did, didn't I?"

He laughed, and it filled up the room. Erin just eyed him lovingly, "What did I do to deserve you?"

This question made Aaron drop his act, and he looked at her with the most honest eyes he could, "Because you never cared about the act I put on. You never have. I tried to impress you with it, remember?"

She laughed again and nodded, "I do, I couldn't tell if you were serious about courting me, or just trying to be funny."

"People always saw me as arrogant, or pompous, even though that's not who I am inside. You saw that, and you asked me to be me. At least, at the beginning. You wanted me to show you who I really was before I put the act back on. No one has ever asked me that. No one ever thought about asking that. Except you."

"I had no idea it meant that much to you that I did that."

"I made my persona to help my family, I told you that. What I didn't tell you, was that I got used to being that guy. It became natural to be him rather than my other self, which for the record is much more boring."

"Maybe to you, not to me." Erin said with honesty.

Aaron smiled, "Thank you, darling, but even when I dropped my act, I never showed you fully who I was. And you were ok with that, you loved me despite that. And how could I not love you for that? You deserve every ounce of love I give you."

"And you deserve every ounce I give in return. You are my rock, I wouldn't be where I am without you."

"And I you, my love. And I you."

He grabbed her hands and brought her close. They kissed, then pressed their heads together in unity.

Not too far away, Diana walked the hallway alone. Her face was like stone, not a shred of emotion on it.

"Diana!" came a voice from down the hallway.

She turned around to see Macro approaching her, "What do you want, Macro?"

"We need to talk," he replied bluntly

"If this is about Glyph and Leilani? I have nothing to say."

She tried to walk away, but Macro stepped ahead and got in her face, "Well I have something to say. And you're going to listen."

"...fine."

"Good. I know what Glyph did, he called you out for your crap that you pulled on his date with Leilani, and as he so aptly put it, you're throwing a temper tantrum in response."

Diana got outraged at the statement, "I am NOT-"

"Oh really? Then why are you shooting hate at Leilani with every look you give her? Why are you refusing to talk to Glyph even when he honestly tries to start a conversation with you? You're mad because he choose Leilani over you! You're causing tension in our teams because of a crush!"

This remark got Diana incensed, "Crush? You think I'm doing this because I only had a crush on Glyph?!"

Macro smiled, "So are you saying that you actually love him?"

"I...I..."

"I'll take that as a "yes". Ok, then what do you love what about Glyph?"

Diana turned away and went into thought. Macro laughed upon seeing this and walked away, "That's what I thought, you don't love him."

She wheeled around quickly, "Excuse me?"

"You know why Aaron and Erin are called The Lovers? It's not because they're both have the same sounding name, and not even because they're a couple. It's because they love each other in a way that some marriages don't even have! You ask one why they love the other, and they respond instantly with a list of things. And guess what? I asked that same question to Leilani, she responded instantly."

"What did she say?"

Macro wagged a finger, "That's not for your ears, but she responded. You hesitated. I won't pretend to know what you're feeling. But you need to get a grip and stop being selfish. Because that attitude will never win Glyph over. And if you can't get that? Then you don't know what love means."

He walked away, leaving Diana alone once again.


	20. Season 02 - Chapter 5

**GRYD Season 2 Chapter 5: Breach**

Daytime at Beacon, students went in and out of classes as the hours went by. In the classroom of teacher Vixi Tod, many teams were listening intently to her lesson. This included GRYD, MEAL, and PRME.

Vixi was writing on a chalkboard, making notes around a map of Remnant. After some sentences were finished she turned to the rest of the class, "Knowing your location, and the areas around you are vital, not just for missions, but for yourselves. Every kingdom has its good places, and bad places, you must know which is which. I'm not saying you have to memorize the entire map...but...if you do...bravo."

She laughed, and some of the students joined in with her. Vixi made to speak again, but a bell went off, signaling the end of class.

As the students tried to leave, she whistled to get their attention, "Hey! Not so fast. By next class I want a detailed list of the top three most dangerous cities in each of the four kingdoms! Be specific as to why they're dangerous. Now, you are dismissed."

With a motion from her, the students left, and as they dispersed in the hallway, they fell into their own little groups. Some of GRYD and MEAL departed on their own, leaving Glyph, Yasmine, Leilani, and the Lovers alone to talk amongst each other.

"That was a very good lesson," noted Yasmine with a content look on her face, "I've always admired Professor Tod's attention to detail in regards to culture, or any of her lessons for that matter."

Leilani nudged her sister playfully, "Wow sis, you enjoyed a school lesson? Shocker!"

This got the others to laugh, including Glyph, which got Leilani to smile brightly. Yasmine just rolled her eyes, "I like classes, and I like to learn. What's more, she was right, knowing the area you're in by the town or cities closest to you could be vital to your survival."

"I'm with Yasmine on this one," noted Erin, which got everyone's attention, "Think of all we've been through? The missions we did, like the train mission. We were prepared for attacks because we understood the terrain. But we can't always expect people to tell us what's going to be there, sometimes...we have to do it ourselves."

"Thank you Erin."

"You're welcome."

"They raise excellent points!" said Aaron with an animated gesture

"You agreeing with something Erin said, that's the real shocker," noted Glyph with a smirk.

Glyph then laughed, and everyone froze in place.

He noticed he was alone and turned around, "What?"

"You told a joke," Yasmine replied.

"Has that ever happened before?" asked Aaron.

"If so, I don't remember it, not even at Signal," remarked Erin.

Glyph shook his head, "You weren't around me that much at Signal. As for you Yasmine, blame your sister, she's teaching me to lighten up."

With a shrug he turned and went back down the hall. This time Yasmine nudged Leilani playfully before leaving to join him, the Lovers followed, and Leilani again smiled as she ran to join back up with them.

Soon enough, they reached their rooms. But they stayed outside the hallway for a bit.

"We'll see you at dinner tonight, if not sooner," said Aaron with a bow, then focused on Erin, "Shall we, my love?"

"Of course," Erin replied with curtsy.

They shared a laugh before entering MEAL's room. They all watched them enter the room, once the door was closed Yasmine let out a small groan.

"How did you stand them at Signal?" she asked Glyph

"I kept my distance." he answered with a smirk.

"Wow, two jokes in an hour. Keep up the good work sis. Want to do that report together, Glyph?"

"Sure, just give me a minute."

"Of course."

Yasmine left, leaving the two alone. Glyph and Leilani smiled at one another when it happened.

"Want to do anything after dinner tonight?" he asked Leilani.

"Not sure. I'll let you know though, ok?" she said with a shrug

"Ok."

He began to walk away, but stopped when he noticed Leilani's smile drop. He got back in front of her.

"What's wrong?"

"What? Nothing!"

"Leilani..."

"I was just thinking about something Aaron said the other day, it's nothing."

Unconvinced, Glyph looked at the door to MEAL, and then back to Leilani with confusion, "Aaron's not the insulting type. Or at least, not to friends."

"He didn't insult me," Leilani said reassuringly

"Then what? Please."

"I noted to him that he and Erin can't help but show their affections, even in public. And he said...'You'll get there with Glyph one day, hopefully.""

The mere saying of this sent Leilani into an embarrassed state, she hid her face with her ears so she wouldn't have to face Glyph.

"I'm sorry! You haven't done anything wrong, I didn't even notice I stopped smiling and-"

Glyph put a couple fingers under her chin and raised her face back up so that she could see him. He was looking at her with the kind eyes she'd grown to love.

"Would you like us to be more like them?" he asked with sincerity.

She thought about it for a bit, then shook her head and smiled, "...no. Then we wouldn't be us, we'd be them."

He laughed softly and nodded proudly, "Good answer."

Before she could say anything else, he brought her close and hugged her lovingly. Leilani was caught off guard at first, but soon embraced it.

They held the hug for a while, then let go. Glyph smiled again and playfully tapped one of her ears, "I'll see you at dinner."

She laughed, "Looking forward to it."

With that, he went into his room, Leilani watched long after the door had closed, a pleased expression on her face. Only after a long stare did she go back into her own room.

Far away, in a base of the Heralds of Purity, Rowan and Lianna stood by one another and gazed out a window. They were on top of a high hill, and below the window was a small town. They both gazed at the town, but each had a different look on their face. Lianna's had one of sympathy, while Rowan had one of curiosity. It was late at night, so only a few of the houses had lights on still.

They continued to look out at the town until a knock came at the door to their room. When they turned, they saw a Herald in the doorway.

He bowed to them, "I have news."

"Speak," ordered Rowan as he stepped closer.

"I heard from the Silent Step, they're outside Beacon right now, they await your orders."

Rowan smiled at Lianna, who smiled back before turning to the messenger, "Thank you for telling us. Give the order, they know who to kill."

"It shall be done."

The messenger departed, leaving Lianna and Rowan alone. The two looked again at one another with pleased expressions.

"Soon, brother, several major obstacles will be out of our hair," Lianna said reassuringly.

"I hope so, sister, we need to advance our plans soon, we can't afford further delays," noted Rowan.

"You know the reputation of the Silent Step, they go in, they get it done, they get out. Besides, it's in the wee hours of the morning, all of Beacon will be asleep by now."

"True, and our guide into how to get in should help them immensely."

"Exactly. It's funny, you'd think that after we left Beacon we would've forgotten the subtle things like the secret ways to get in," joked Lianna.

Rowan laughed back, "Ah, but it's because of the reasons we used those secret entrances that it sticks in our minds."

They paused for a brief moment, then laughed once again as the memories of their youth played in their heads.

"Like I said before Rowan, we were a handful."

"Yes we were, Lianna. And now we are again, but for very different reasons."

"Much nobler ones."

"Indeed. Shall we wait for the word of their success?"

"Of course."

With a nod to the other, they went back to the window and gazed at the town below them once more.

At Beacon, in the room of MEAL, Leilani slept comfortably in her bed, as did the rest of her teammates. But suddenly, her ears perked up, even though she was still asleep. The ears rotated for a bit, then honed in on something and started to vibrate. After a few seconds of this, Leilani woke up in a panic, and immediately used her ears to focus on something. With each passing second though, she got more afraid.

Quick as a flash she got out of bed and rushed out the room, she then quickly, yet somewhat quietly went into the room of GRYD. Once inside, she rushed to Yasmine's bed and began to shake her.

"Sis, sis!" she said in a panicked whisper

Yasmine slowly stirred to see Leilani above her, panic still on her face, "Leilani? What's wrong?"

"I heard something."

"Leilani, it's a school, there's a lot to hear."

"No, sis! Someone broke in!"

These words shocked Yasmine awake and she immediately went upright, "You're sure?"

"Yeah, it took me a while, but I know it all now. Someone's here that shouldn't be."

"Crap. Let's think about what to do."

"What's going on?" asked a voice

They turned to see Glyph rising up, his expression curious yet concerned.

Leilani looked remorseful at this, "Sorry to wake you, Glyph, but something's wrong."

"I heard, but what?" he asked.

Yasmine sighed, "When we were young, our store would get robbed a lot. Our parents store I mean."

"It was bad," noted Leilani. "But this Faunus in our village, she had rabbit ears too, she taught me how to use them to hear things, specific things, even when I'm asleep. I learned the footstep pattern of everyone in the village, even when they're trying to walk slowly, I hear them. It's come in handy."

"I bet, but how does that apply here?"

"It took me a couple months, but I did the same thing here. I know what every person in this school sounds like when they walk, or run, or tiptoe. There is someone here that shouldn't be. In fact..."

She paused and used her ears again, they twitched and twisted as if to try and pick something up.

"...it's a group, and they're getting closer to where we are. Please believe me, Glyph."

He looked at her for a few seconds, then got out of bed and smiled at Leilani. He then teleported away, and emerged a few seconds in his gear, weapons in hand, "I'll always believe you Leilani. Go get the others, Macro first. Tell him, 'Code Breach.' He'll understand. Yasmine and I will get our team ready, go. Go."

She beamed at him, "Thank you. I'll be right back, sis."

With that she bounded away. Yasmine got and started to get her gear, "Thanks for believing her."

"If I didn't, I'd believe you. You seemed just as scared as her." he said with a honest look.

"You and Macro have your code words, we have ours. Wake the others."

"My pleasure, plug your ears."

Curious, but knowing she better not question, she plugged her ears. Glyph took a deep breath then let out a high pitched whistle. Within seconds, Reyson and Diana shot up from their beds, which made Glyph stop.

"Wake up. Someone's breached the school, we need to find out who. Get your gear."

Reyson looked at Glyph angrily, "There better be a fight in this for me, it's WAY too early for a prank call."

Glyph marched over to Reyson and glared at him, "Would I do this to you if I wasn't sure?"

The two locked eyes for a bit, then Reyson smirked, "No, you wouldn't. Right on, let's go night hunting!"

Diana rose up and looked at Glyph and Yasmine, as they were now in full gear, "Do we know who's here?'

Yasmine shook her head, "No, but Leilani heard someone approaching, and they're apparently getting close to us. So we're taking the initiative."

"Are you sure she-?"

"Do NOT finish that sentence," warned Glyph, "she heard something, now get ready. You got a minute."

Furious, but not willing to get left behind, Diana got ready.

A minute later, all four of them entered the hallway slowly. Seconds later, MEAL joined them, Macro at the lead.

"You all caught up?" asked Glyph

Macro nodded, "Yeah. Someone's broken in. Leilani, do you know exactly where they are?"

Leilani went still and her ears began to search for the intruders, her eyes opened slowly after a while, "They're two floors down...they're...they're going really slow. Much slower than when I first heard them."

"Two floors down are the student dormitories. Probably don't want to risk being overheard." noted Yasmine as she summoned her drones.

"Overheard doing what?" said Diana with force, "Ok, there's someone here that shouldn't be, so what?"

Glyph eyes flared up and he made a move toward Diana, but Macro stopped him, "Think about it Diana. Night and Squire are notorious for their lockdown procedures. They lock every door and window once curfew is up, no exceptions. So how did they get in? And more importantly, why would they want in? We're a school!"

Diana sighed at the logic of his words, "They want something."

"Or someone," added Reyson, "could be a kidnapping...quite literally actually."

"Fair point," noted Glyph. "So let's find out. If it's nothing? We go back to bed, but with our luck?"

"Exactly," acknowledged Macro. "Ok, everyone ready?"

They all nodded, Macro turned back to Leilani, "Still got them?"

"Yeah, they're one floor down, second hallway on the left," she said after a pause.

"Yasmine, think your drones can give us some recon?"

Yasmine nodded, "On it."

Two of her drones flew down the hallway and ducked down another one, out of sight. Content, Macro faced them all.

"Ok, we go in formation as we head to the hallway. Two by two. Glyph and Reyson, then me and Yasmine, Diana and Leilani, and Lovers bring up the rear. Leilani, how many are there?"

She again listened, but shook her head quickly, "I can't tell. Their footsteps, they're too similar. Kind of like...like they're in formation too?"

"Military?" asked Erin.

"Or a trained group," suggested Aaron.

Macro grimaced as he thought of the options, "No way of knowing until we find them. Let's move, quickly but quietly."

With a motion, they formed up, and slowly moved down the hallway. They proceeded towards the staircase that would take them to the lower floor. Each one kept their eyes and ears open, as well as their head on a swivel so that they could be ready for anything that came.

Eventually, they made it to the doorway to the stairs. Glyph teleported in to ensure no one was waiting for them, he returned after a moment and gave an all-clear signal. They slowly opened the door and went inside.

No sooner did they enter than Leilani's ears perked up again, "Wait, there's another one, separate from the group. This one is... a few floors up. But there's nothing there but...oh no..."

In the Headmaster's office, Night rested comfortably on his bed. A beeping now soon sounded though, followed by a bright flashing light. Night groaned as he got up, "What is going on?"

He went to his computer and typed something on it, and soon a camera feed appeared, it showed GRYD and MEAL descending down the stairs.

"What are you all up to?" he asked himself, he then peered closer, "And why are you in full gear?"

Before he could answer himself, the door to his office slowly opened.

A few floors down, GRYD and MEAL reached the floor where the intruders were. Before they entered it though Yasmine stopped them, "Wait, my drones are in position...there's...there's nothing there?"

"Are they in the right hallway, sis?" wondered Leilani, slightly worried, "I know they're there. Though they are stopped for some reason."

"Wait...I got an idea."

Yasmine quickly blinked her eyes, and her drones switched through different kinds of viewing lens, until they ended up in infrared vision. When they did, they transmitted what they saw to Yasmine, and it shocked her, "They're invisible! Ordering an attack."

The drones sent out beams attacks at the invisible invaders, knowing their cover was blown, the invaders struck at Yasmine's drones with extra precision.

Back in the staircase, Yasmine grimaced, "My drones are down."

"Do you know any invisible groups?" Glyph asked Macro.

"One." he replied grimly, "They're assassins."

"Crap." stated Diana.

"Sweet," said Reyson with his evil smirk.

"Calm down," Macro ordered, "new plan, we got in hot and fast. Yasmine, the moment we exit, get your drones near the ceiling, scan as far and wide as you can in infrared. Leilani, keep your ears open, if her other drones go down, we'll be relying on you for a bit."

"Got it." said the sisters in unison.

"Me, Reyson, and Glyph we go first. Diana, Lovers, protect Yasmine and Leilani. Move!"

They opened the door quickly and went in, Yasmine and Leilani quickly used their senses to try and find the invaders. Yasmine's drones responded first, "Right in front of us!"

Quickly, Macro raised his machine gun and fired in a sweeping motion. Though only the walls got hit, the flash from the bullets illuminated a group of six in front of them.

"Aaron!" shouted Macro, "Flash bang!"

"My pleasure," responded Aaron raising his crossbows, "duck!"

GRYD and MEAL ducked, and Aaron sent two bright bolts into the area. These two also hit the wall, but they didn't penetrate. Instead, they stuck, then detonated.

The area got covered in smoke, but when it cleared, the assassins weren't invisible, they all had color marks on them.

"We see you! Now that's a flashy bang!"

"Get them!" shouted one of the assassins, and they group rushed forward.

Within the confines of the hallway, the battles were limited to close quarters. Making the weapons only useful in their base forms. This worked fine for Reyson, Glyph, and Macro, who switched up their weapons and went after their attackers.

Diana, Aaron, and Erin continued to protect Yasmine and Leilani, and teamed up when one of the assassins tried to make a play for them.

The assassins were no pushovers, and got hits on them, but the teams didn't give up, and whether on their own or together, they took them all down.

Once unconscious, the groups invisibility stopped. They wore cloaks, but in an armored sense, which no doubt led to them lasting so long. Reyson kicked one so the body would flip over.

"I dig the outfit," he said sarcastically, "but who are they?"

"The Silent Step," said a voice

They all tensed up, and a body was soon thrown into the hallway. After which Night stepped into their line of sight, lance in hand, and fierce expression on his face.

"Students."

"Headmaster." they all said in relief.

"Told you he'd be fine," remarked Glyph.

"You knew I'd find out about this without getting killed first?"

"Cameras."

"Ah, you knew it would trip an alarm if they saw you this late at night?"

"It is your M.O., sir," noted Macro.

"Fair enough. But still, this is not good that the Silent Step are here."

Reyson scoffed, "Why? We beat them."

Night stepped forward, "No, we didn't. This was but the first wave. The Silent Step doesn't risk failure, so they go in groups of growing numbers until the job is done. This was wave one. Wave two will no doubt come soon."

"What are they after though?" Diana asked

"I do not know Ms. Artemesia, but anyone and everyone could be a target. How did you know they were coming?"

"Leilani's ears," answered Glyph with a point.

"Indeed, well Ms. Kaleido, I believe your services are going to be required once more. But while we wait for the next wave to come, we need to warn the other students."

Macro stepped forward, "A suggest a text, or brief video message, sir. Warn them what's happening, but to stay in their rooms, lock their doors, and be at weapons ready in case something happens."

"A good plan, but what of you all?"

"We fight." said Glyph bluntly

"Heck yeah." added Reyson

Night chuckled, "Very well. The smaller numbers will work to our advantage. But I will bring Squire and your professors into the mix as well, they can work as one group while your teams do likewise."

Now Yasmine stepped forward, "Headmaster, do your cameras have infrared capabilities? My drones were able to see the assassins because of that."

"They do, I'll have to adjust them in my office. You'll have to rely on Ms. Kaleido's ears in the meantime. I'll alert you when they're setup. Be wary in the meantime, I would be very surprised if the next wave didn't come in the next ten minutes. Good luck to us all."

With a small bow, he left, leaving GRYD and MEAL on their own. They turned to Glyph and Macro.

"What do we do now?" asked Aaron

"Stay together? Or split up?" pondered Erin, "I mean, if they're coming in greater numbers, we can't take them all on if we're all together."

Glyph turned to Macro, "She's got a point."

Macro nodded, "I know. Ok, here's what we do. We're going to stay here until the next wave gets picked up by Leilani's ears. Once we know a good general area where they'll be, we'll split up into our teams. That way, whether by eyes or ears, we can find them. Don't rely on them though, use your flashier Dust pellets to do what Aaron did before. Report in once your targets are down, got it?"

They all nodded, but Reyson soon cleared his throat to get their attention, "Uh...what about them?"

"We got some time, let's make sure they don't get another chance to do their job. Come on."

With a motion, they all went to the assassins and carefully lifted them up, then moved them into the staircase.

Meanwhile, Night worked in his office. He sent a mass message to the students of Beacons, then brought up the cameras and started altering their frequency so that they could see different wavelengths.

Back with GRYD and MEAL, they waited anxiously for the next wave of assassins to arrived. The most anxious of them was Reyson, who paced back and forth, twirling his Khopesh as he waited for the battle to begin again. Only a glare from Glyph made him stop.

"Sorry..." he said sarcastically, "I get agitated when a battle isn't here yet."

"You'll get it. Just stop," said Glyph forcefully.

Before Reyson could responded, Leilani's ears perked up, "I got something! Two groups just entered the school. Wow...they really spread out this time. One's near the main entrance, but...they didn't come through the door. The other...is on the other side, near the amphitheater...wait...in the amphitheater..."

"How did they get in there?" Yasmine asked aloud, "The window is high up, and the windows are locked from the inside. There's no way in."

"Tell that to them," joked Aaron.

"We might get the chance," teased Erin.

"Enough, you two," overrode Macro, "Ok, the amphitheater isn't too far, and that side of the school has limited hallways. Glyph, take your team and take them out. Leilani will guide us to the others."

Glyph nodded in acknowledgement, "Good luck."

"Same to you."

With another nod, the two teams separated. GRYD was the first to reach their section of the school with assassins. Glyph stopped them, then motioned Yasmine to get her drones into place. She placed one near the ceiling, with the other close to her. When nothing was seen on its sensors, she motioned to Glyph that it was ok to proceed.

They slowly moved down toward the Amphitheater, the door was open, and again Yasmine motioned her drone to scan the area. Nothing was in the amphitheater, so they moved to the other hallway. Soon after they did though, Yasmine saw the assassins. There were ten in this group, and they were moving in formation down the hallway in a way that didn't create sound.

She signaled the others that she spotted them, Reyson cackled and formed his arm cannons, "About time!"

Before anyone could stop him he lunged into the hallway and pointed his cannons, "Sorry! You can't roam around here without a hall pass!"

He sent out two blasts of energy down the hallway. The light from them illuminated the assassins. Some got knocked out, but the others dodged in time.

"Dang it, Reyson!" shouted Glyph angrily

"Ah, come on Glyph, it's more fun this way. Besides, I made them visible. See?"

Sure enough, the remaining seven assassins were glowing with bright gold color, which forced them to drop their invisibility. This made Reyson cackle even louder.

"Now come on, let's get them!"

With a roar he raced down the hallway to fight the assassins, Glyph groaned but motioned for the others to do the same.

On the other side of the school, Leilani guided Macro and The Lovers towards the other group of assassins. Before they reached them though, another sound got her ears.

"Someone else is coming..." she whispered

Macro motioned for them to hid behind some nearby outcrops in the wall. The noise got louder, and they recognized it as sets of footprints. Macro did a countdown with his hands, and at one, they jumped out , weapons pointed at who they were.

"Don't shoot!" shouted Vixi Tod

MEAL relaxed as they saw Vixi and Professor Lochen looking at them. Lochen couldn't help but laugh at the situation, "Not bad kids, glad I trained you well. Element of surprise, lesson number 5."

Vixi rolled her eyes, "Toot your horn later. Knight sent us to find you. Squire and Chestnut are looking for your friends."

Macro gave a bow in appreciation, "I appreciate that. We'll take the numbers. Leilani, you didn't lose them did you?"

She shook her head, "No, I still got them...uh oh..."

"What?" asked The Lovers in unison.

"They changed course...they're...getting closer to us."

"Dang it, they must have heard us," noted Macro bitterly, "Ok, we make our stand here. Professors, you mind hearing my plan?"

"I trust your plans Mr. Camof," Vixi said happily

"And I got were she goes," Lochen said with a nudge to Vixi

She pushed him away, "Don't. Start."

Macro couldn't help but laugh at the situation, but then laid out his plan.

The assassins near them slowly approached where they were. They moved without sound, without any indication that they were there. Suddenly, two shadow appeared on the wall near them. They stopped, and two silhouettes emerged. They couldn't see the detail on them, but they were getting closer to their range.

Two of them moved forward, and approached the silhouettes. Once they were close enough, they pulled out daggers and stabbed them. But to their surprised, they dissolved.

"Now!" shouted Macro

Quick as a flash, MEAL and the professors dropped from the ceiling into the hallway and blasted the nearby area. The assassins were illuminated, and some were taken out.

"Get them!"

Macro led the charge against the assassins, with Leilani at his side. The Lovers took on some on their own. Vixi and Lochen did battle as well. Vixi wield a set of Sai, while Lochen used a massive crossbow that unleashed powerful bolts in machine gun like fashion.

Meanwhile, GRYD took the fight to the assassins on their side of the school. Despite the 2-on-1 disadvantage, they were each holding well. However, so were the assassins. They used precision strikes to try and beat GRYD, and landed hits on each of them, including Glyph.

Of all of them though, Reyson was enjoying the battle the most. He laughed with glee at the challenge he was now getting.

"Come on! Don't tell me that's all you have! I may be a Heron but that doesn't mean I can't fight like an assassin!"

This stopped the assassins cold, and they looked upon one another, "Heron?"

"They did not say a Heron was in the target group."

"We cannot risk blowback. Tranq him."

Reyson laughed at this, "Right, like a tranquilizer is going to work on-"

Before he could finish, the assassins sent out two darts out with blazing speed and they plunged into Reyson's chest.

He looked down in shock, "...me"

Reyson fell to his knees, facial expression going from shock, to tired. The assassins slowly approached him, "We must remove him from the field."

"We'll join the others after."

As they moved to pick him up, they paused, and looked at Reyson's hands. They were shaking, the two looked at each other curiously, then back to Reyson. A noise became audible, it was an angry noise, a grunt, then heavy breathing, then a growl.

The assassins started to back away, as they looked upon Reyson, who slowly raised his head to reveal his eyes had gone full blood red, no white or black remained.

Reyson got to his feet, raised his swords and roared in a way even he had never done before. All the other fights stopped at this roar. Even the ones happening with MEAL and the professors.

The assassins quickly moved past reasons to rejoin their group, Reyson let them, then slowly turned to face the whole group. The remaining members of GRYD looked on in horror at the sight of Reyson and his eyes.

"Oh no," said Glyph.

Reyson charged at the assassins, who attacked in unison. Despite the massive outnumbering, Reyson was taking them all on, and winning. Whatever consumed him, it made him stronger, as well as more endurant to pain.

Glyph, Diana and Yasmine all watched in awe and shock at this. Yasmine was the first to break the spell, "Aren't we going to help him?"

"With what?" asked Diana, "He's handling this...as scary as this is."

"He's going to get himself killed, for real this time!"

"Yeah, and if we get close to him, he might kill us! Did you see his eyes?"

"Enough," said Glyph firmly, "give me a moment."

Glyph watched the battle for a few moments longer, then teleported and went into battle. Using the gaps in the hallway he blasted through the assassins until they were all down.

Content with the victory, Glyph began to put his escrima away, but pulled them back out when a roar caught his ear. He brought them back just in time to stop Reyson from striking him with his Khopesh.

"Reyson! Snap out of it!" shouted Glyph

"You...took...my...battle!" Reyson roared back

The two clashed in close quarters combat. Glyph didn't use his teleportation to get away, he didn't want to hurt Reyson, nor was he sure he could in the state he was in.

Reyson got a lucky hit on Glyph, leaving him open for a strike. He made to capitalize, but a whip latched onto his arm, and Diana pulled it taut, "You don't hurt him."

"But I can hurt you!" added Yasmine, who with a wave of her arm sent her drones to pelt Reyson with bullets.

The attacks struck Reyson from all sides. He tried to slash at them, but Diana held him in place, so his range was limited. Reyson roared louder and louder at the attacks, and the red from his eyes grew onto his skin like a rash. With newfound strength, he grabbed the whip, pulled Diana in, and clotheslined her to the ground, knocking her out cold.

Yasmine called back her drones and reformed her lance before attacking. Glyph joined her, and the two worked in unison to try and take Reyson down. This went on for a while, until something caught Glyph's eye. He whistled to Yasmine and motioned behind Reyson. She nodded in understanding.

They continued the attacks until an opening appeared, and the two kicked Reyson a few feet backwards, sending him tumbling to the floor. He got up quickly though and roared loudly again. But before he could advance, a hammer can down and clonked him on the head, hard. Reyson stood still for a few moments, his swords fell to the ground, and his eyes returned to their normal state.

As they did, he fell to the ground unconscious, revealing Squire and Professor Chestnut behind him. Chestnut was the one who use the hammer, and he draped it over his should as he looked upon Reyson.

"I would presume to think there was a reason for that?" he asked to Glyph and Yasmine.

"Yeah. No time though to explain."

Yasmine stepped forward t get their attention, "We have to get to the others, can you take care of these guys?"

"Go help your sister and friends Ms. Kaleido," said Squire with a nod, "we have this. All of it."

With a nod of appreciation, Glyph went to Yasmine and teleported her away.

Chestnut laughed at the situation, "Why is it that students make such messes?"

"They learn from the adults," answered Squire with a smirk.

On the other side of the school, MEAL, Vixi, and Lochen continued to battle their foes. They paired up to ensure no one fought alone, but they were still outnumbered.

Macro battled as hard as he could, but occasionally looked to the others to ensure they weren't in danger of blindside or ambush. The Lovers were handling themselves just fine. Aaron would raise his shield in times of being attacked to prevent harm to him or Erin. Erin meanwhile would use her light semblance to stun the assassins and create openings.

Vixi and Lochen were very comfortable working on their own. Vixi was very agile and worked around the area to her advantage. Lochen was more rooted, but he used to his advantage to lull the assassins into a false sense of security before blasting them with his crossbow.

Despite their skill though, the battle was still very even. Macro grimaced as he continued to fight, but soon got an idea, "Leilani, Erin! I'm think it's time for a Blind Bounce!"

"That could work," acknowledged Erin, "ready Leilani?"

"Worth a shot." she replied with a shrug

"What are they up to?" asked Vixi, who found herself next to Lochen

He chuckled, "This will be good, just close your eyes. You'll thank me later."

Hesitantly, she did so, as did Lochen. The others cleared their immediate areas and went into a low stance. Erin began to glow, the intensity grew with each passing second until the hallway was filled with nothing with light. Just before she couldn't see anything, Leilani bounced toward a wall. Then, using her hearing, she tuned into the distinct sounds of the assassins, who were groaning at the brightness of the light. She bounced off one and to the next until all of them were down.

"Ok Erin, power down!" said Leilani, now back on terra firma.

Erin stopped her Semblance, and when all the others could see, all the assassins were down. The professors were especially impressed by this.

"Well done everyone," praised Vixi with a kind smile. "That was most impressive."

Macro surveyed the area himself before addressing her, "You should thank Professor Lochen, he put the idea in my head about it."

Lochen feigned humility by doing an overdramatic bow, "Ah, come on, you would've thought of it eventually. No need to praise me. Now if you want to Vixi-"

"No," she said blunty.

"If we may move on," said Aaron boisterously, "what shall we do with our assassins?"

Erin looked at theme warily, "I'd hate for them to get free, they were no pushovers."

Vixi nodded in acknowledgment of this, "Let's tie them up for now and lock them somewhere they can't escape. Headmaster Night will know what to do next."

With their own nods of understanding, MEAL made to do so, but as they did, Glyph and Yasmine appeared in the hallway. Leilani raced to her sister and hugged her, who happily did the same. She also looked to Glyph who smiled at her before going to the others.

"You all alright?" he asked as he surveyed them.

"No casualties, not even the assassins. You?" wondered Macro.

"We, may have an issue. I'll explain later."

"Everyone ok?" asked Vixi concerned

"Physically. It's hard to explain. The assassins are down though, Squire and Professor Chestnut are handling it now."

Lochen made a noise of pondering, "Lot of questions though. Some things aren't adding up."

"Agreed, we need-"

A noise got their attention, it was the loudspeakers, "Attention students, this is Headmaster Night. I'm happy to report that the siege of our school is over. The security systems are fully functioning again, and all intruders will find it very hard to get in. You may stand down and go back to sleep. To our "defenders", meet me in my office after you "tidy up".

"You good here?" Glyph asked Macro.

Macro nodded, "Yeah, go get your team."

Glyph got Yasmine and teleported away. Once gone, MEAL and the Professors tied up the assassins.

A little while later, in Night's office, everyone was gathered. GRYD, MEAL, Squire, and the three Professors.

Night himself was in his familiar spot of the window, looking at over the grounds, "Quite the night we had. Pardon the pun."

Lochen couldn't help but laugh, "We need the puns Kendall, only way the mood is going to lighten anytime soon."

"Fair enough. Assassins, in my school. I never thought this would happen. Grimm on the grounds? That's different, that was a special case. But this? This is beyond the pale. Sending assassins to a school full of children, and in such numbers. I will not stand for this."

Everyone could hear the venom in his voice in that last declaration. Making many of them uneasy. Night sighed though and tried to regain his composure.

"The question remains though, who were they after? They came for me, but only sent one. They were heading for the student dorms. So who were they after?"

"Us." said a voice.

They all turned, Reyson was sequestered in a corner, he gripped one of his arms like a vice as if to ensure it didn't do anything he didn't want to. Glyph and Macro noticed that he was twitching uncontrollably.

Night stepped towards him, "What do you mean, Reyson?"

"The assassins, the ones who...the ones I fought. When I said I was a Heron, they noted that they weren't told a 'Heron was in the target group'. I'm only associated with one group outside my family. GRYD."

A silence came upon the room, all were in shock at this revelation. Diana was especially stunned at this, "They were after us?"

"More than likely all of us," noted Macro, getting everyone's attention, "I could tell by the way they fought me that they were intent to kill me. Not because I was trying to stop them from whatever they were up to, but something...deeper."

Night pondered this, "The Silent Step are known for their precision, they don't do collateral damage. They're famous for keeping non-targets from getting killed."

"Which begs the question, who wants GRYD, Meal, and you dead, Kendall?" wondered Vixi.

"Heralds." Glyph answered.

Another silence filled the room. This time though, it wasn't broken.

Far away, in the base of the Heralds of Purity, Rowan and Lianna continue to look out at the village outside their window. The messenger from before enters the room, and gives them a message. Rowan motions for him to leave.

Once alone, Rowan lets out a howl of frustration, "How do they keep surviving?"

Lianna put a hand on his shoulder, "Calm down brother, it seems as though luck and fate may be on their side. But, there are ways to counter that."

"How?"

"Simple, we took an impersonal approach with this attack. Next time, we take a personal approach. Trust me. We'll be rid of them soon."

Dawn at Beacon. Macro, Glyph, and Yasmine walked down a hallway. They didn't speak to one another, just continued to walk down it until they eventually reached a dead end. At the end of the hallway was Reyson, his expressions fearful, and his posture not much improved from the meeting in Night's office.

"That's close enough," he said with clear intent and a wave of his hand as they drew closer.

"What's going on, Reyson?" asked Glyph, some concern in his voice.

"You know what's going on. Something...is very wrong with me. Whatever those assassins did, those tranquilizers, whatever was in them, it did something to me. Something that's never happened before. I couldn't control myself. The blood rage, it was...magnified, beyond anything it was before."

"That wasn't your fault, and you know that means something since I'm saying that," said Yasmine with sympathy.

"Thanks, but it doesn't change anything."

Macro noticed a change in Reyson, and grew worried, "Why are we here?"

Reyson smiled weakly, "You and Glyph are the leaders, and Yasmine is my partner, you're the ones I trust to honor my request. If it ever happens again, if I go...if I enter the blood rage again...I need you to...to..."

"Don't say it, we know you can be knocked out, we'll take care of it."

"NO! I don't, I don't want you to knock me out..."

Reyson took a deep breath and right himself so he could look at them with determination and strength, "If I go into that state again. I want you to kill me."


	21. Season 02 Chapter 6

GRYD Season 02 Episode 6: Family Ties

"We need to talk about this," said Yasmine, concern ripe in her voice.

In the room of GRYD at Beacon Academy, Yasmine sat on the side of her bed, looking at Reyson who was lying on his, eyes fixed on the ceiling. His face was somewhat blank, but his body language was telling Yasmine all she needed to know. His weapons weren't on him, they were nowhere in sight. Despite his best efforts, she could see his hands shake.

It had been days since the attack on the school by the Silent Step, but Reyson had not forgotten what happened to him. The feelings of the state he went into still haunted him. For Yasmine, she couldn't shake the thing he asked her, Glyph and Macro to do if he went into that state again.

"There's nothing to talk about," he replied, voice flat and low.

"I tried to give you some space Reyson so you could work out what was going on, but you're not getting better. I think you're actually getting worse! You don't touch your weapons, you don't ask to go into combat practice, and if someone bumps into you, you apologize! You never do that!"

"Sorry to disappoint you."

"This isn't about disappointing me Reyson!" shot back Yasmine, standing up to try and rile him up. "This is about you, and what you asked of us. We're not going to kill you, and I think you know that, so is that why you're acting like this? To ensure we never have the option to?"

Reyson tilted his head slightly and looked to Yasmine, "You don't understand."

"Then tell me!"

"I've told you about my bloodlust, it's something I've known about for years. But this? It took me over, I don't know how that's possible, but it did it. All my anger, all my rage, all my aggression, it consumed me. I felt...I felt I was trapped in my own body, I've never felt like that. I've always been in control of it, always. Every battle, every situation, I was in control."

"What about when it caused you pain?"

He shook his head after a moment of thought, "That's different, that was my blood telling me a lie was being told. It never did that in combat."

"You said it yourself though, this never happened before. And it's clear that the tranquilizers were the catalyst for it all," Yasmine deduced. "So isn't it fair to say that if you don't get shot with those tranquilizers again you'll be fine?"

Reyson grunted and shifted his body up to an upright position, his expression was one of not being amused, "Why are you doing this Yasmine? Trying to make me what I was? I thought you hated me like that."

Yasmine smiled, "Oh, I do. You're an idiot, through and through. However, it's who you are, and while I may ask you to actually think sometimes, I'll never be the person who forces another to change who they are. My kind has faced those people enough, and I won't be that to you. However, you're not this person I'm looking at now, and that's why I want you to go back."

"I appreciate that Yasmine, I really do. But for the first time in a long time, I'm scared. I'm scared of hurting people, worse, hurting the wrong people. I clotheslined Diana, I almost hurt you and Glyph as well. Yes, maybe it was something in those darts that triggered it, but that meant there was something to be triggered in the first place. I can't let that get out again. And yes, maybe it was wrong of me to ask you all to kill me, but it felt right. And if it does happen again, I would ask you all to consider it, at least a little.

"No," Yasmine stated firmly. She then went to grab her bag and headed for the door, "You may not want to fight, but you're still a student here, so get up and head to class, you're going to be late if you don't."

She left without another word, Reyson watched the doorway for a bit, then sighed and followed her lead.

Hours passed, and the classes of the day went on. The teams of GRYD and MEAL were all distracted in their own ways. Some were worried about Reyson, others were worried about the Heralds of Purity and what they might do next to attack them. And for one, they were thinking about more personal things. This was Diana, who was still dealing with the fallout from both Glyph and Macro's talks with her.

Though she didn't admit it out loud, she wasn't thrilled that Glyph and Leilani were together. She was originally ok with the first date, but as they continued to see one another, and she saw how happy Glyph was with her, it made her angry. Worse though, she didn't exactly know why. Then, there was Macro, who asked her why she loved Glyph, and when she hesitated, she got called out for it, and that made her even angrier. It was clear to her that she loved Glyph, but why couldn't she voiced it when asked? Was it that personal to her? Did she think Macro would laugh at her when she told the truth? She didn't know, and that made her even more angry.

Her anger led her to do many things, mainly glare at Glyph and Leilani, which led much of the rest of the members of the teams giving her similar looks, and though she worked together with them in practices and combat missions, the tension between them was only mounting.

A bell rang, and the classes dismissed for the day. Desperate for some air, Diana left quickly to get on the school grounds. Thankfully for her, the sun was still shining, and a nice breeze filled the air. For the first time in a while, she smiled purely, and even twirled in place as if the wind pushed her to dance. A brief relief came upon her, and she continued to smile, for she was grateful.

Diana walked around the grounds for a bit, not heading anywhere, but simply enjoying the serenity of the day. However, that stopped when a sonic boom emerged. She, along with all the other students in the area, looked up to see what was going on.

In the sky was a ship. A small one, but a big enough one to carry a few people. What made this ship so special though was its shape and design. It looked like it was meant to slice through the air with ease. Diana and the others watched eagerly as the ship descended. Diana tried to make out details on the plane, but couldn't from where she was, so as the ship came closer to the grounds, she moved around to get a better angle.

As she did, her eyes went wide, for on it was the symbol for the kingdom of Atlas, as well as another symbol she recognized all too well. She quickly ran toward the ship, and got near it right as it landed and turned off its engines.

A rear panel on the ship began to lower, and from the ramp that was now formed to the ground, a woman with purple hair and military garb walked down it and slowly observed the area, including the students that were looking at her with curiosity.

"Mother!" called out Diana.

Orchid turned, and her tense face melted into one of joy of seeing her daughter. The two embraced in a warm hug, and after a few seconds they broke it up to look at one another. Orchid looked at her daughter happily, "Hello Diana. Are you well?"

"I've...been better," she replied honestly, "I'm surprised you're here though. You got my message that I was fine, right?"

"Yes, but I wanted to see you myself, I also wanted to talk to Headmaster Night about the situation. I've had dealings with the Silent Step before, and they're still keeping the prisoners here for me to pick up and take back to Atlas for interrogation."

"Wait, Vale didn't want to talk with them?"

Orchid laughed wryly, "That's why I'm here now and not the morning after the attack. Bureaucracy...takes time. That's why I hate it so much."

The two shared a laugh. Orchid observed her daughter once more and shook her head, "While I don't approve of you not wearing the school uniform...you always did look beautiful in that dress."

Diana was taken aback by this, "Are you alright, mom? You're rarely this kind when we talk."

"Perspective, Diana. This is the second time I could've lost you to outside forces. Though this wouldn't have happened if you went to Atlas like I asked you to..."

"Yep, there it is. Welcome back, mother."

The two again laughed, but this time, Orchid motioned to the school, "Do you mind taking me to Headmaster Night? It's been a while since I've traveled here. And along the way, you can tell me about this team of yours. Especially this Glyph character you keep mentioning. I can only imagine the boy my Diana wants to date."

Diana hid her face as they started to walk towards the entrance, "I didn't say I wanted to date him."

Orchid smirked at her reaction, "You didn't have to, what mother doesn't know what their daughter feels in certain cases? And this is definitely one of them. Is he cute at least?"

"Stop it, mom, please!"

"Well, that's a yes."

"Mom!"

The two continued on, talking about light things, Orchid shared about her recent military dealings, while Diana gave vague updates about her school life, not mentioning the strife between the teams. As they reached the front door, Orchid made to open it, but the door opened instead very quickly, almost knocking the two over.

On the other side of the door was Glyph and Macro, who acted politely when they saw they almost hit Diana.

"Oh, sorry Diana, me and Glyph were in a hurry. Didn't mean to hit you and..." he started, but then paused as he looked up and saw Orchid, and his expression became a bit more fearful.

"It's ok," she replied briskly and honestly. She noticed how Macro was looking at her mother though, and a memory shot forth, "Oh, this is my mother, Orchid. You said you knew her, didn't you Macro?"

At the hearing of Macro's name, Orchid's expression changed. It went from one of curiosity over why he was looking at her like that, to one of piercing and deadly intent.

"Macro? Your last name wouldn't be Camof, would it?" she asked, venom seeping into her voice.

"Yeah, that's right. Do you know him, mom?"

"Glyph..." Macro said, fear now ripe in his voice. Glyph looked at him concerned.

Orchid didn't take her eyes off of Macro, "No, I've never had the...pleasure. But, I do know his father. Which reminds me, maybe you can give him something for me..."

She started to reach for something behind her, Macro saw this and turned to Glyph, "Code Danger!"

Out of instinct, Glyph touched Macro's shoulder and they vanished instantly. No sooner had they done so than Orchid pulled out a very elegant gun and fired it at where Macro was. A fraction of a second sooner and it would've hit him.

She grimaced when she realized she missed, "Ugh, right, Glyph's a teleporter. Very clever, Mr. Camof."

Diana was beside herself at what her mother just tried to do, "Mother! What the heck? Why did you just try and kill Macro?"

"Please, Diana, it wouldn't have killed him."

"Not the point! What did you do?"

"What did I do? This is about his father, and what he did to your uncle."

"What are you talking about?!"

"Macro's father killed your uncle!" she shouted at Diana, which instantly made her freeze in disbelief.

In the room of Team MEAL, Macro and Glyph appeared. Macro instantly looked around to make sure Orchid wasn't somehow still around. When it was clear she wasn't, he took a deep breath, and then several light ones after that.

Glyph meanwhile had his eyes locked on his friend, very confused as to what just happened, "Macro?"

"I know, I know, I'll explain, just give me a second."

Macro took a few more seconds to compose himself, "Ok, where to start? Well, that's Orchid, Diana's mother, as you heard. Another reason why you shouldn't be with her."

"Ha, ha," Glyph mocked bluntly.

"Right, sorry."

"What's going on Macro?"

"Her brother, Diana's uncle, worked with my father. He was part of the special force that looks over Remnant. one day, they got a dangerous mission. My father and him, along a group of others, went on it. Some bad things happened, and Orchid's brother didn't make it."

"There better be a twist coming."

"Orchid loved her brother, and when she found out he was dead because of the mission, she blamed my father."

"Why? Was it his fault?" asked Glyph.

"No!" fired back Macro, face full of fury, but it soon melted into an uncertain one. "I don't think so. My father told me what he could, and he said he didn't cause his death, and I believe him. Orchid doesn't. And she basically swore that if she could cause him to lose someone he cared about, she would. Guess who's target No.1?"

"Your mother?"

The two looked at one another blankly, but then broke out into laughter. Macro patted Glyph on the shoulder before heading to his bed to sit down, "Thanks, I needed that."

"No problem. What do we do though? She knows you're here, and I can't take you off grounds. Do we wait for her to leave?"

"I don't know if we'll get that lucky. Orchid is military, she'll find an excuse to stay here and wait for me to poke my head out."

"She's that determined to do this?"

Macro gave a knowing smile, "As much as Primrose is about getting back at us."

"Crap," Glyph replied, rubbing his forehead in frustration, "another elitist woman trying to screw with us."

"I'm not sure Orchid is elitist, but she can't stand to be slighted, ironically, that's how she got so high in rank within the Atlas military, she doesn't let anyone get in her way, no matter what they say or do."

"That sounds familiar."

Glyph looked to the door, gazing through it to the room of GRYD, Macro noticed this and nodded, "Yeah, Diana does take a bit after her, doesn't she? Thankfully for you and Leilani though, she didn't try and forcibly break you up when you got together."

"Small miracles."

Silence enveloped the two, each thinking about a different member of the Artemisia family. Eventually, Glyph sat down next to Macro on his bed.

"Do you just want to stay here for a while? The day is almost over."

Macro thought about it and nodded, "Yeah, it's our best bet. We can wait for someone else to come and then you can fetch me dinner."

"Woof," joked Glyph.

"This is not how I expected today to go."

"Ditto."

Silence again filled the room. But soon, and odd expression came across Glyph's face, and he muttered to himself some things.

Macro noticed this and turned, "What's wrong?"

"Just had a weird question go through my head," Glyph replied with a shrug.

"What?"

"Well, if Orchid is an uptight "take no prisoners" military woman...what's Diana's dad like?"

He looked at Macro with a curious expression, Macro matched it, and then the broke into laughter once again. Macro then reached for his phone and began to dial a number.

Meanwhile, Diana escorted her mother to Night's office. They hadn't talked since Orchid's bombshell about what happened to her uncle. Despite this, she couldn't help but look fearfully at her mother, a person she never thought capable of doing what she almost did to Macro.

As they reached the door to Night's office, Diana knocked on it, and from within a voice came, "Come Diana, bring your mother too."

Orchid was surprised by the invitation, but she her face went alight with revelation, "Ah, yes, Night's cameras. I heard he had them all over the school. I approve."

Without a word or look to Diana, she entered the office, Diana followed suit. Night watched them from his desk as they entered, his face expressionless as he eyed them both.

Orchid looked around the office, and nodded at what she saw, "Nice office, Night. How long has it been? That conference before the school year started?"

"That sounds about right, good to see you again, Orchid," he replied politely, but face still without emotion. "Though I wish it was under better circumstances."

"I'm sure you'll be saying that to many more people before the year is over."

"More than likely. Diana?"

Startled that her name was spoken, Diana quickly composed herself to face Night, "Yes, Headmaster?"

"Please return to your team room, or you may roam the school or grounds. I'm going to be talking with your mother for a while."

"Yes, Headmaster."

With a bow to Night, she began to leave, but stopped and gave her mother a look. Orchid nodded and motioned for her to do as he said. Diana left, and closed the door behind her.

"Despite everything that's happened, I'm grateful that you have kept my daughter safe. Well, mostly safe," Orchid noted.

"She's one of my students, I endeavor to take care of them all. It's too bad you don't value all of their lives like your daughters," Night replied, before turning his laptop around to show repeating footage of Orchid trying to shoot Macro.

She laughed at this, "That's a personal matter."

"I don't care, you're on my grounds, in my kingdom, and you just tried to kill one of my students."

"Ugh, as I told Diana, the shot wouldn't have killed him...just wounded him severely."

"This isn't a joke."

"Who's joking? I made a promise to Gunner, and I will keep it."

Night rose up from desk, glaring a hole into Orchid, who fired back with a glare of her own, "Let me be very clear, if you so much as lay a finger on Mr. Camof, you won't have to worry about Gunner, you'll have to worry about me. Or worse, you'll have to deal with Glyph. And you'll find we're both in top form and able to take you down."

The room went quiet, Orchid and Night maintained their glaring contest at one another. Orchid was especially incensed at the idea that Night would get in her way, but she eventually cracked an evil smile, "We'll just have to see what happens then, won't we?"

"Don't push it, Orchid."

"I won't, Night. Now, onto the business I actually came here to discuss. The Silent Step?"

"All captured and guarded. There have been some...casualties."

"Poison pills?"

"Yes. I should've saw it coming, but they're not known for being caught. We made sure the rest couldn't take them. I'll have Squire take you to them now if you wish."

"I do. I have a prison transport landing tonight to take them to Atlas, but I want to get a heads start on things."

Night moved slightly and pushed a button on his desk, "Squire, please come to my office. Orchid Artemisia is here to talk to the prisoners."

"Understood Knight," replied Kendall through the speaker.

"He'll be here shortly. You'll keep me informed of anything they say?"

"Of course," she replied with a more sincere smile, "while we may not agree on the Camof family, we do agree on the Heralds. I will not have them keep coming after my daughter."

Night couldn't help but laugh at this, and even shook his head in disbelief.

Orchid was confused by this, "What's that for?"

"You talk about people coming after your daughter, which shows you care, and yet you're willing to cast a shadow over her here at her school."

"Excuse me?"

"If you hurt Macro here, that'll send a message throughout the school that her mom is a psycho. It won't matter what your reason is. Diana will likely be left alone, because of you, especially by her team, and her partner, who is Macro's best friend. So tell me, what promise is more important? Your promise to Gunner about "revenge"? Or your promise to your daughter to keep her safe and happy?"

"I never made that promise to her."

"All mothers make that promise," corrected Night with a smile. "You proved that by saying you want to take down the Heralds for her."

Orchid made to bite back, but the door opened, and Squire walked in, "I'll take you to the prisoners, ma'am."

Night and Orchid again stared the other down, but this time she broke eye contact with him and went to Squire, "Show me the way."

The two left, leaving Night alone in his office. He sat back down and stared at the doorway, before pressing another button on his desk, "Macro Camof."

A dial tone sounded, and eventually the line picked up, "Headmaster?"

"Yes Mr. Camof, we need to discuss the situation with Orchid. I assume you have a plan?"

A little bit later. Diana made her way down the hallway to her teams room. As she approached the door, she couldn't help but look at Team MEAL's door. She made to knock on it, but couldn't muster the courage. She slowly opened the door to GRYD's room instead, and poked her head in to see if anyone was there. It was empty.

"Small mercies," she said relieved as she went in.

Diana went to her bed and lied down on it, then stared at the ceiling trying to make sense of all that just happened. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through some pictures, she eventually made it to the end of her library, where a picture of a much younger Diana taking a pic with a man with hair like Orchids'. He had casual clothes on, but you could tell he was military by his body shape and hair style. The two smiled at the camera, and Diana found herself smiling too.

"Oh Uncle Mul, is mom telling the truth?"

The door to the room suddenly opened, and to her shock and dismay, Glyph stood in the doorway. The two locked eyes, but Glyph quickly broke it and made his way to his bed.

Diana let him walk away, but something inside her compelled to speak, "How's Macro?"

"Fine. Safe," Glyph replied simply.

"Good. Good."

Silence enveloped the room again. Glyph rummaged through a drawer looking for something. Diana waited for him to speak again, but he didn't, this made her very agitated.

"Look, I didn't know, ok? I didn't know my mother would do that. I swear it."

"I know."

"What?"

He still didn't make eye contact with her, "You introduced them. You wouldn't have done so if you thought something bad would happen. Especially that."

Diana was unsettled by his simple yet cold logic, "I'm...I'm glad you say that."

"It's the truth, nothing but."

Finding what he was looking for, he stashed it in his pocket and made to leave. Diana's blood boiled as he didn't even gaze in her direction.

"Dang it, Glyph, look at me!"

Glyph stopped, and for what felt like an eternity didn't look at her, but eventually, he did. He gave her a look that showed he wasn't interested in what she had to say.

This made Diana even angrier, "You just said I didn't mean to get Macro attacked, and yet you look at me such contempt?"

"I don't blame you for Macro, that's true. I blame you for what you're doing to Leilani."

Diana laughed and shook her head, and this time Glyph got angry, and he stomped right up to her.

"It's funny really, Macro tried to play peacekeeper, told me to make up with you, even if only a little. You know what I said? You're throwing a temper tantrum because you didn't get what you wanted. And this proves it. You're so desperate for my attention that you ignore what's right in front of you."

"Oh really? I'm the only one ignoring things? You think I'm angry right now because of you dating Leilani? I'm mad because I just found out that Macro's father may have killed my uncle!"

"He didn't," Glyph said bluntly.

Her eyes bulged out at this, "You know then? You know what happened? Cause I don't! I never knew, and now I have more questions than answers, and you might know some of them! And instead of being a good partner and asking me if I'm ok after what happened right in front of me, you're judging me for an entirely different matter! So tell me Glyph, who's really ignoring things?"

Both Glyph and Diana fumed at each other, Glyph broke the silence first and pointed a very angry finger at her, "You don't get to play that card. "A good partner" doesn't pick and choose when to be good when it suits them. You made your bed, Diana. Now lie in it."

Before she could reply, Glyph teleported away. She roared in anger and threw her phone at the wall. Anger filled her, but it soon melted away to sadness and she fell to the ground beside her bed and cried.

The night was filled with tension for both teams. On GRYD's side, Yasmine was still concerned for Reyson, who still wasn't acting like himself. And Glyph was concerned for what Diana might be up to, for when the team returned to their room, she wasn't there, nor did she return by the time they went to sleep.

As for MEAL, they were concerned for Macro's safety, especially after he told them what happened with Orchid. Glyph told Macro he would keep on guard in case something happened, and Leilani promised to use her ears to detect anyone coming close to the room. He was relieved at these promises from his friends, but he couldn't help but wonder if it would be enough, or if his backup plan would come into effect in time.

Morning came, and everyone was on edge. Diana was still nowhere to be found. And when the teams got a view on the grounds, Orchid's ship was gone. Yet, something still felt off.

Classes weren't until afternoon on this day, so most of GRYD and MEAL went outside, with the exception of Yasmine and Reyson.

As they entered the grounds, a sense of relief came over Macro. He laughed at the feeling, "I never thought I'd be so happy to be outside."

"After almost getting killed yesterday, I would be surprised if you weren't happy to be out in the open," joked Leilani.

"Oh yes," boasted Aaron, "being dead would've ruined your week!"

"And your month," added Erin with a laugh.

Macro rolled his eyes, "Ha, ha you three."

"It doesn't matter what happened yesterday", noted Glyph with a pat on Macro's shoulder, "Today is better, and Orchid is gone."

"Yep, her and that ugly Atlas...ship..."

Macro pointed to where the ship was, and the moment he did something struck him as odd. The others noticed this, but weren't sure what was going on.

Glyph grew worried, "Macro?"

Macro waved him down, then quickly searched the ground for something. He found a decent sized rock, and hurled it at where the ship was yesterday. As it neared the spot, it clunked off of something, and a ripple effect showed the ship was still there.

"It's cloaked," Macro said fearfully. "She's still here!"

Before any of them could react, a high-pitched scream consumed the area they were in. The decibels forced them to their knees in pain. But both Glyph and Macro were able to turn just enough to see Orchid stalking towards them.

She kept the scream up, then reached for some special spheres on her belt and threw them at The Lovers, Leilani, and Glyph. The first three reached their targets and an energy net pinned them to the ground, but Glyph teleported away just in time. Clear of the area, he rushed Orchid and tackled her to the ground, forcing her to stop the attack.

Free of the pain of the sound, Macro rose up and joined Glyph, who was still recovering from the attack himself. Orchid rose quickly, and smiled evilly at the two, "Very clever, Glyph, you're very capable. No wonder Diana is smitten with you. As for you Mr. Camof, I have unfinished business with you."

"I know what you think my father did, you're wrong," he shouted defiantly.

"Of course you would take your fathers' side, it's only natural. As is my vengeance on him for taking my brother away."

"You're not hurting Macro," said Glyph confidently, reading his escrima.

"Oh really? You could've teleported him away and kept him safe. Yet, you're choosing to fight me. Very irresponsible for a best friend."

Macro scoffed, "He knows we can take you. Especially now that you don't have the ability to land a cheap shot on an unarmed teen."

These words stung orchid, and she pulled out her elegant gun and pointed it at them, "That would've been a mercy compared to what I'm going to do to you."

The grounds went quiet, no one sure what was happening or why. Then, the three of them clashed. Macro and Glyph had the numbers advantage, but Orchid was arguably just as skilled as the two of them combined, if not better.

She used her gun to both block and attack, sending multiple kinds of Dust bullets at them, including some they had never seen before. Glyph resorted to his teleportation skills, but this only made Orchid smile, she dodge rolled every time he teleported, making it so he was never in position to attack her.

Macro helped even things up, but Orchid refused to give an inch, and blocked just about every attack they gave her. Her speed and agility were quite impressive, as were her combat skills. Even when she took a hit, she didn't let it show.

Glyph and Macro tried to use a combo maneuver on her, but it didn't work, and she began to mutter. Not understanding what she was saying, they rushed in, and once they were in range, she let loose her Semblance once again. Her scream made them drop to their knees in pain once again.

Behind them, on the ship, the rear panel opened once again, but this time, Diana came in off of it. She saw her mother attacking Glyph and Macro and became very fearful, "Oh no."

Back at the battle, Orchid continued to unleash her sound scream, and it was getting to the two of them until they basically collapsed on the ground. Only then did she stop.

"See? A shot to the stomach would've been much more merciful," teased Orchid. "But, I guess you're just like you're father, unable to admit when you made a mistake."

"You...know nothing...about my father!" shouted Macro through the pain.

"I know he's a coward, and he couldn't face what he did on that mission, so he said my brother, my Mul, got himself killed. A bigger lie could not be told."

"I know he's not a coward."

"Oh really?" Orchid said with a smile, kneeling down to taunt him more, "How's that?"

"Because he's here."

With a smile and laugh he pointed up to the sky. Orchid turned and looked and sure enough, a ship was entering Beacon's airspace. It was a very small ship, much smaller than Orchid's, but it was coming in fast. It hovered above Beacon above a mile up, then something was fired from it. A few seconds later, a pod impacted on the ground next to Orchid, who was looking livid.

The pod opened, and out of it walked Gunner Camof, weapon loaded and looking ticked, "Get away from my son."

Orchid rose up from her kneeling position, expression still livid. Yet, it soon warped into the smile from before, "Gunner. How nice to see you."

"Can it. You need to leave."

"I'm not done here, unfinished business and all that."

Gunner raised his gun at Orchid's head, it was a very big, yet very detailed assault rifle. Beams of light went from the back of the gun to the barrel, "Leave."

"Make me."

A brief pause came, then Gunner pulled the trigger and launched a massive beam of energy at Orchid, who sidestepped it quite easily. The beam hit the ground in an empty area and exploded.

Orchid showed mock appreciation at the result, "I'm glad you're taking me seriously."

"You hurt my son, I take no one more seriously," Gunner replied, raising his gun to her again.

"If only you felt that kind of loyalty to the families of the soldiers under your watch then Mul would still be alive!"

"Believe what you want, Orchid, that's all you're capable of doing."

Infuriated by his words, she rushed in and attacked. She transformed her gun in a sword of sorts, but one that was clearly segmented. Once in mid-range, she slashed with the sword, and it broke apart and became a whip of sorts, it wrapped around Gunner's arm, and she tugged him in for some close combat strikes.

The two dueled one another mercilessly. Both were highly capable, and clearly very skilled. Orchid was faster, but Gunner was more durable.

As the battle continued, the students around the grounds watched with both awe and fear. They still had no clue as to what was going on. Even some of the faculty were on the grounds, and Night was watching from within his office, eyes focused on the conflict with great intensity.

Macro and Glyph watched the fight with equal intensity, so much so that they didn't notice Diana, who kneeled down next to Glyph, "She has to whisper."

Now noticing she was there, his eyes went from flared up to confused, "What?"

"Her Semblance, she has to charge it up. She has to whisper, or mutter, to build up the sound waves in her. It's a quirk she doesn't like, but she has to do it. Wait for her to whisper or mutter, then hit her in the back of the head or neck. That'll stop her."

"You want me to stop your mother?"

"This isn't right!" she pleaded. "It doesn't matter what their beef is, it shouldn't be happening here, and it shouldn't have come to my mother taking down everyone and trying to hurt Macro! Don't do it for me, do it for them!"

She pointed to The Lovers, and Leilani, who were trapped in their energy nets. Glyph wasn't sure if she was telling the truth, but he nodded to show he would wait and do it. Even pulling out his escrima to get ready for it.

The battle continued on, and both sides were getting more and more infuriated as their opponent refused to fall.

"Admit what you did!" roared Orchid, "Admit it and accept your fate."

Gunner scoffed, "We all signed up for the job knowing that every day could be our last. Your brother volunteered for that mission, and he died. I'm sorry, I am, but I am not his killer."

He stared defiantly at Orchid who looked right back at him with contempt, then started to laugh. First lightly, then loudly, until she was laughing like a maniac.

""I am not his killer"? Another mindless soldier. But...as they say..."

She casually walked towards him, saying something below her breath. Gunner wasn't sure what she was doing, but Diana grabbed Glyph's shoulder and nodded. In a blink he was gone.

Orchid opened her mouth and started to unleash her sonic scream, but just as soon as it started, Glyph appeared behind her, and clocked Orchid hard on the back of the neck. She fell to the ground, and when she tried to rise up, both Glyph and Gunner had their guns trained on her face.

"Leave," Gunner warned.

"Now," Glyph added.

Looking at the two of them fiercely, Orchid wanted nothing more than to strike them down. But instead, she smiled, raised her hands to show she wouldn't do anything, reformed her sword into her gun and put it behind her.

She chuckled as she started to walk away from them, "To be continued, Mr. Camof."

"Atlas will hear what you did, Orchid," stated Gunner.

"Oh, I'm sure, but much like your last attempt to get me fired, it won't work. Not even with Night's influence. Like I said, to be continued."

Without another word, Orchid went onto her ship, and a minute later it rose into the air and flew away.

Content nothing else would happen, Gunner turned to Glyph and smiled, "Thanks for the assist, Glyph."

"Happy to help, but I'm not the only one you should thank," he replied, and gave a motion to Diana, who was uncomfortable at the situation she now found herself in.

"I see."

Gunner went over to Macro, who was still trying to find his legs after Orchid's sonic scream. He eventually made it to his feet and saluted his father, "Dad. Thanks for coming."

"Thanks for calling, son."

"Just keeping you in the loop, you needed to know."

"Yes I did. Oh, here, this will free your friends, go take care of them."

"Yes sir."

Gunner handed him an object, and Macro went to go help the others. As he went to do so, Gunner diverted his eyes to Diana, who was barely able to look at him, "You're Orchid's daughter?"

"Yes," she replied simply.

"Glyph said you helped end the fight."

"I did."

"Why?"

"I love my mother, but it wasn't right what she did. She shouldn't have attacked Macro and the others like she did."

Gunner looked at her with uncertainty, unsure if she was telling the truth. Eventually, he got down on one knee and cupped her shoulders with his hands, looking upon her with honest eyes "I don't know what she told you about your uncle. But I did not kill him. Directly, indirectly, or any other form. He was a brave man, and he is missed."

Diana teared up slightly, "Thank you."

With a nod he rose back up and went over to ensure that Macro got the others free. Diana watched for a bit, then turned to see Glyph looking at her. Though he didn't speak, he did bow his head in appreciation for what she did. She smiled and did the same and mouth, "Making my bed."

Glyph laughed at this and shook his head before joining Maro and the others. Diana wanted to go over and join them, but knew it was best if she left.

The day went by in a blur. The school was abuzz over the fight between Orchid and Gunner. To Diana's surprise, no one looked at her funny, or seemed to mention that Orchid was her mother. Whether by luck or intent, she was grateful, she had enough on mind without the looks of others.

"Ms. Artemisia?" came a voice.

Diana turned and saw an attendant next to her, "Yes?"

"You have a call. I'll take you to it."

"Of course."

She followed the attendant to a room and went to where the call was, as she accepted it her mother appeared, "Hello Diana."

Diana was surprised, but did her best to look pleased, "Hello mother."

Orchid laughed, "It's ok to not be happy with me, Diana. I...overreacted a little today."

"A little?! You trapped some of my friends in an energy net, fought Macro, Glyph and Gunner all for revenge! That's more than a little mom!"

"Yeah, you're right, but family means a lot to me. And when it comes to Mul well...he's...yeah. Anyway, I wanted to call to apologize to you. I shouldn't have done any of this while at your school, and for that I am sorry."

"I take it you won't come back for a visit then?" asked Diana sarcastically.

"Highly doubtful, but you never know, I might make it to Vale one day. I'll let you know," Orchid said with a shrug and a laugh.

Diana couldn't help but roll her eyes at her mother, it's like none of what happened truly bothered her.

"Before I go Diana, I do want to talk about one more thing...Glyph."

"Oh dear gosh."

"I just want to give some motherly advice, that's all."

"Given all you've done today, this might be the most constructive thing you've done."

"Probably. My advice is...if you truly like him, don't give up on trying to get him."

Though simple, Diana appreciated the advice and smiled, "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Where you are in life right now is so confusing Diana. Even I was confused at that age, so I when I met your father and thought we were to be together...well...you can imagine how that went," Orchid recalled slightly embarrassed.

"Oh yeah, I can bet."

"The best thing he ever did when we were in Atlas was that he shut me down repeatedly and often. I had to learn to be patient, and see if we were truly meant to be together."

Diana became slightly queezy, "That sounds like Glyph, gosh, do I like him because he reminds me of dad?"

Orchid laughed loudly at this, "I highly doubt that Diana. If for no other reason that Glyph apparently doesn't talk much unless needed. Your father won't shut up no matter the circumstance. It makes him annoying as a father and husband, but good as an ambassador."

They both shared a laugh. And Orchid looked at Diana with motherly eyes and kindness, "The point is Diana, if you and Glyph are meant to be together, you will be. Just be patient, and don't lash out. I almost lost your father because I did. And I almost cost you a lot today because I lashed out again. Don't be like me on this, ok?"

"Ok," Diana said with a smile and a nod, "thank you mother."

"Of course. And, if you choose to transfer to Atlas..."

"Mother!"

"Kidding...kind of. Anyway, I look forward to your next message Diana, goodbye."

The call ended, and Diana was again alone, but this time, she had a smile on her face. A little later, she made her way to the room of GRYD, as she did, Macro was approaching MEAL from the opposite side.

Feeling compelled, Diana rushed to him, "Hey!"

Surprised, but being polite, Macro stopped to address her, "Hey."

"I felt it was best if I kept distance given everything that happened today but, is everyone ok?"

"Yeah, the nets were meant to pin, not hurt. And don't worry, between me and Glyph, they know you didn't know anything about your mothers attack. They don't blame you at all."

"That's a relief, thank you."

"I should be thanking you," corrected Macro with a smile, "You told Glyph how to beat your mother, you didn't have to do that."

"Yes I did," noted Diana.

"Good to know."

With a nod, Macro made to enter his room, but a compulsion again came over Diana, "He keeps me in check."

"I'm sorry?"

"You asked me why I love Glyph. He keeps me in check. He cuts through my "elegance", my ego, my flirtations, and he tries to make me better. Even when I screw up, he wants to make me better. That's...special."

Silence filled the hallway, Macro looked at Diana with great curiosity before smiling widely, "There's hope for you yet, Diana. As far as I'm concerned, you and me are cool. What happened with our parents, that's on them. Glyph? Well, you took a big step with him today. But what you need to do is return to the Diana that everyone liked. Be a part of the teams again. Whether you believe it or not, we do need you. We want our friend back."

"I...I want to be back."

"Like I said, hope for you yet."

With a smile, Macro turned and entered his room. After he was gone, a smile came upon Diana's face and she went into her room too.

Outside, Reyson sat in his hidden section of Beacon, looking out among the now night sky for some sort of meaning.

As he continued to think, a noise caught his ears, and he turned to see Yasmine being raised by her drones.

He was not amused by her presence, "Yasmine, please, I just-"

"Shut up, Reyson, I'm tired of your moping. I'm here to help you whether you want it or not," she replied with fiery intent.

"Oh, how are you going to help me?"

"I'm going to help find your father."

This response jarred him from his state, he felt his heart rush for the first time in awhile, "What?"

"You said yourself, your eyes come from your father, who is not the man your family claims he is. And since no Heron has ever had bloodlust like you, it goes to reason that your father has the bloodlust too. And though I can't say this with any certainty, if he has it, he might know how to get rid of it."

"I...I never thought of it like that. I just wanted to know who he was."

"I can help with that."

"How?"

"Well, since your mother and he...well...you know..." Yasmine with an awkward wave of the hand, "that meant they had to have met somewhere. I would venture a guess that he's not in Vale."

"Because if he was he would've come for me?"

"More than likely. You have been in the news since you've been here. So if he saw you and your red eyes, he would've come for you...if he could," she hypothesized.

"The Herons do have a lot of control in Vale, it would potentially be easy to keep him away. Ugh, this is a lot of guessing, we don't even know if he's alive!" shouted Reyson angrily.

Yasmine reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, and looked him with very kind eyes, "If he was dead, your family wouldn't have hesitated to tell you about it. Instead, they tried to say that your step-father is your father. He's alive, and we'll find him."

Reyson looked at the kindness of her action and couldn't help but smile, "What do you need from me?"

"I need you to tell me everything you can about your mother. What she's like, what her role in the Heron Clan is, everything. We can help narrow down suspects."

Yasmine's drones whirled around, and brought forth a holographic computer screen. Yasmine typed on it and started to document things she already knew, "Whenever you're ready, Reyson."

He again smiled, but this time relaxed against the pillar and looked up at the stars again, "My mom's name is Poppy. She was an ambassador to the Heron Clan for a long time..."

*credits*


	22. Season 02 Chapter 7

GRYD Season 02 Chapter 7: Learning and Mending

Life at Beacon Academy had seemingly gone back to normal. It had been days since the battle between Gunner and Orchid, and there had been no missions, no new attacks, no Grimm uprisings, nothing.

In regards to Team GRYD and MEAL, things were getting back to where they were. Diana was acting much like her former self, before Glyph and Leilani got together. And because of that, there seemed to be much more unity than before. There was still tension though, and it could be felt, but unlike before, it wasn't unbearable.

This made classes much more relaxing, as they didn't have to worry about the tension emanating from one individual and causing the others to feel uncomfortable. One particular class that they got to enjoy once again was Professor Vixi Tod's Culture Class. This time, she was talking about the importance of teaming up with people from other nations.

"I know this may seem to be a counter to what you're being taught here at Beacon," she noted to her students. "After all, we're training you to be competent so that when you do go off on your own, you'll be ready. But you need to think of it like this, if the goal was to train you to be solo fighters, why are you in teams?"

She held her arms out to show she was asking them to answer the question, and they begin to murmur amongst themselves.

Vixi let this continue for a while until she was content that they had talked enough, "The answer is because while it's true that many Hunters and Huntresses work alone for one reason or another, your time at this school prepares you for the potential team-ups you might be doing. Which brings me to the point of this lesson, sometimes you'll be forced to team up with someone you're not familiar with, or barely familiar with. Sometimes, that means a person from Vale will be working with someone from Vacuo, or a team up between Atlas and Minstrel. It could happen, and if you're so rooted in your ways as a solo hunter, that will cause you problems down the road. I'll give you an example."

She walked around to the front of her desk and then leaned against it, "This one time, I met a Huntress named Perui, she was from Minstrel. I'm from Vale, but I got a call to help out a friend...who was impatient and decided not to wait for me to arrive. I didn't know the area well, so I sought out someone to help me. Perui was the only one to agree to it. She was...unique, I'll put it that way. She hated being asked questions, didn't like how I analyzed things at times, but she put up with me. Eventually, we found my friend, saved his bacon from both Bandits and Grimm, and became fast friends. She even treated me to a dinner afterwards. Anyone here who has seen me eat should understand why she never took me to dinner again."

The classroom burst into laughter, Vixi joined them and smiled widely as she recalled the story.

"The point is, dear students, is that there will be times you have to mingle with those you don't know, or don't know well. So, your assignment for next class is thus. I'm pairing your teams with another teams, and I've divided you into pairs of 2, one from each team. Your job is to talk with them at length and learn about them, and then write a paper about what you learned. To be kind to you all, I've decided to not throw you into the deep end of the pool. Be thankful this wasn't Lochen's assignment, he would've."

Another round of laughter arose, along with several nods, as they knew how eccentric Professor Lochen could be.

"I've put you with teams you are familiar with, but, I've divided you into pairings that I think will bring forth the desired effect. Do this right, and you might end up with a friend, or a deeper appreciation for someone. Do this wrong, and you'll fail the assignment, that I promise you. I'm putting the sheet with the team and single pairings on the board. Wait for the bell to ring before coming down. I look forward to seeing what you learn about one another."

With that, Vixi grabbed a couple pieces of paper off her desk and stuck them on the board behind her. She then exited the room to her office.

The students talked amongst themselves for a bit, and a few minutes later the bell rang, and slowly but surely they made their way to the board. GRYD and MEAL however hung back, smiles on their faces as they did.

"Is there any doubt that we'll be together?" asked Diana playfully.

Many shook their heads, showing that they knew Vixi would put the two teams together. Erin seemed especially pleased by this, "I think this sounds fun. Don't get me wrong, I know I've talked with all of you before, but I don't think I know many of you as much as I would like."

"A chance to become even greater friends!" boasted Aaron with a dramatic gesture, "Who would want to turn that opportunity down?"

"I might know someone," said Yasmine, casting a wary eye to Reyson.

Reyson didn't react angrily like he usually would, he actually remained rather still, and smirked simply, "Ha, ha. I actually find the notion of talking very appealing right now. Or did you forget all the lovely chats we've had recently, Yasmine?"

Diana smirked evilly at this, "Oh...getting cozy?"

Many of the others laughed at this, including Leilani, which really made Yasmine upset.

"Shut up, Diana. I'm helping with a personal matter, and talking is required to do that. Nothing more."

"Whatever you say."

"Enough," said Glyph with a roll of the eyes.

"Yeah, can it you two," added Macro with a smile of his own, "let's relish a relatively easy assignment for once. Come on, the crowd is dying down."

With a motion, Macro guided them down, him and Glyph were the first to the papers. They scrolled through one page and didn't see their names, and then made it to the other and scrolled down it.

Suddenly, Glyph's eyes went wide with fear, "Oh crud."

"What?" asked Macro leaning in to see what he saw, "Oh crud."

"What's wrong?" asked Yasmine.

"Everything ok?" wondered Aaron, extremely curious.

Hesitantly, Glyph pulled the paper off the board and handed it to them. The remaining six all bunched up on the paper and looked at it.

"Oh crud," said Aaron, Erin, Reyson, and Yasmine in unison.

Leilani and Diana however didn't say anything. Rather, they just looked at the other with worry. For they were paired up.

While this was going on, Vixi was sitting in her office, going over some papers. Her room was very elegantly decorated. It had trinkets and items from all the nations of Remnant, as well as items from both Human and Faunus cultures. Her desk was very neat and tidy, but sticking out like a sore thumb was a large jar of sweets that she would occasionally dip into to retrieve a snack. One that she would devour in one shot.

As she was looking over a paper, a knock came to the door.

"Come in," she said without looking at the door.

The door opened, and Macro stepped out. Upon seeing him, Vixi smiled, and put down her paper, and leaned back in her chair. She assumed a posture of pride, mainly in pride of herself, because she knew he would come.

"Wasn't sure who would come to my office first Mr. Camof, but you were on the list," she said with some joy.

"Expecting complainers, huh?" he asked.

"This is one of my annual assignments, and usually four to five groups complain about who they got paired up with or singled out with. It's a school, it happens. So, dare I ask who you are here to complain about?"

Macro raised his hands a bit to show he wasn't here to force an issue, "No, not complain, just...informing you of something. You see..."

"Leilani is dating Glyph, which has ticked off Diana, which is causing a lot of turmoil within your group."

At her very accurate summation of events, Macro just looked at her stunned, to which Vixi laughed rather loudly, "Oh, Mr. Camof, if only you could see your face right now."

He shook himself out of shock, "I'm just surprised you're that...accurate."

"I'm a teacher, Mr. Camof. Most importantly, I teach about culture, and about people, so it would be very bad if I wasn't able to read situations involving people. I'll admit, it was subtle at first, but eventually I couldn't help but notice how every time I looked at your groups, that there was plenty of hate being shot at various members. I just put the pieces together."

"To which I must ask," he stated, stepping closer to her desk. "If you knew about what was going on, why would you put Leilani and Diana together? We only just got back to a somewhat normal state between us. This...could set us back, and I don't want that, neither do the others."

Vixi looked at Macro sadly for a bit, then sighed and got up from her desk and approached him, "Young love is hard, especially when multiple people are involved. Trust me, I know, it's one of the reasons I'm still single."

"Despite Professor Lochen's clear advances?" asked Macro with a smile.

"Yes...that's...well yeah. Anyway, I understand what your group is going through. But there's only a few ways that this will be handled. Answer me this. Has Glyph and Diana solved their differences?"

"...no."

"Ok, well then the only way to remedy the situation as I see it is to put Leilani and Diana together. It will be incredible awkward, and there will be some...uncomfortable things said. But hopefully, hopefully, they'll come to understand one another a little more. And it might even get Diana and Glyph to talk again in a way that isn't hostile. Isn't that a chance worth taking?"

Macro thought about her words, and could see the wisdom in them. He eventually nodded in agreement, "You're right. It could work."

She patted him on the shoulder, "Glad we agree. Which reminds me, when they do talk, make sure they're alone. That goes for the rest of your pairings as well...darn, I forgot to mention that during the class. Eh, I'll send out a message. Point is, this needs to be done within the bubble that surrounds two people when they talk. Understand?"

"Yes, Professor."

"Good, off you go then."

With a small bow, he made to leave.

Before he did though, Vixi called out, "Mr. Camof? Just out of curiosity, what did you think of my other pairings for GRYD and MEAL?"

Macro turned around and smiled at her, "I think you paired us up well."

"I appreciate that."

With a nod showing she was done, Macro left the room.

After departing, Macro went to the others and told them what Vixi had said in regards to the assignment. He didn't go into details about why she put Leilani and Diana together, but noted simply that she wasn't going to change the pairings. Glyph seemed the most angry about this, but Macro talked with him privately about what she really said, and Glyph relented.

The day continued, and classes started and ended, until eventually, there was time to break off into their pairings and go into quiet areas to see what they could learn about the other.

Out on the grounds, and far away from everyone else, Glyph and Aaron sat on the ground across from the other. Glyph had his usual blank expression on, while Aaron had his usual cocky smile upon his face. After a few minutes of relative silence, Aaron couldn't help but laugh loudly.

"Oh, the irony!" he said with energy, "I, the loudest of our group, should be put with the quietest of yours. Possibly the quietest of any group!"

Aaron again laughed loudly, but stopped after a while. Glyph meanwhile hadn't moved, nor had his expression changed.

This shook Aaron a little, "You do realize, Glyph, that the assignment is to talk with one another?"

"I know," he replied simply.

"Then what are you waiting for?"

"For you to drop the act and talk with me."

"Act?"

"You know what I mean."

The two stared at one another for a bit, then Aaron cracked a small smile and lowered his volume and bravado, "Is this better?"

"It'll do."

"How long have you known?"

Glyph shrugged, "Not long actually, I saw glimpses of it when that thing with Erin and her parents happened. I got more glimpses after that, figured it out."

"Why haven't you told the others? Expose me, so to speak."

"Not my place. You clearly do it for a reason, I just don't want to talk with that guy for this assignment. He's annoying."

Aaron laughed loudly again, but this time in his regular voice, "Touche, I'm sure he is to a person like yourself. Well, now that our cards are on the table, what should we talk about?"

Glyph shrugged again, "No idea."

"Well, I do believe that Leilani told Erin that you had her ask you questions on your first date, how about we do that here? It should get us to the bottom of things rather quickly."

"Fair enough, you go first."

"Gladly. Honestly, there's been a question I've wanted to ask you about for some time. Why did you not like me and Erin during our time at Signal?"

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, Glyph. Don't be coy. We saw how you would look at us during our...uh...public displays of affection. Or how we would talk about it. Even now, though we are most definitely friends, unlike before, you still occasionally do roll your eyes at us for how we act. I want to know why."

Glyph strummed his leg for a bit while he thought of his answer. Aaron waited very patiently while he did, for he really wanted to know why Glyph looked at them that way back then.

"Because I didn't understand," he eventually answered.

"Understand what?"

"How you could be so young, yet feel that your other was your true love, soulmate, perfect match, whatever. I didn't understand it. I thought you were being foolish."

"Are you saying love is foolish?" wondered Aaron.

"No, I'm saying that love isn't what people think it is at times. People think love is an attraction, it's not. People think love is a feeling, that's oversimplifying things. And because of assumptions like that, they get into relationships that either end badly, or quickly, or something in between. I've seen it before, too many times. Both with students like us, and with adults. It sickens me, and I thought that's what you were back then with Erin."

"And now?"

"Your love is real, not a doubt in my mind," Glyph said with true honesty.

"I'm honored you feel that way about us," noted Aaron with a bow of his head. "What made you change your mind?"

"The situation with Erin's parents, her outfit change. You didn't care about her outfit, you cared about her, you wanted to make sure the girl you loved wasn't gone, and you were happy when she wasn't."

"Very true. Erin is very special to me, and barring something unfortunate, I will love her for all of my days."

"I have no doubt of that either."

At this compliment, the two bowed their heads to one another in respect. But Aaron soon got a wry smile on your face, "What about you and Leilani? Is that real love?"

"I don't know," he answered simply.

"Come on man! She's not here, tell me how you feel about her."

"I care for Leilani, deeply. She's one of the few who doesn't look at me differently because of my past. She respects me, trusts me completely, and someone I believe would never betray me."

"Sounds like love to me."

"Maybe. I don't know. She is my first relationship of this kind, ever. I'm in no mood to rush. It could work, it could not. I'm willing to wait and see how it goes."

Aaron laughed a little, but nodded at the wisdom of Glyph's words, "A fair judgment. I wish you nothing but the best, and I hope you get your answers soon. If not for your sake, then for Leilani's!"

This time Aaron burst back into his louder laugh, filling up the area around him. Glyph rolled his eyes and shook his head at Aaron's "return."

Eventually, Aaron calmed down and looked to Glyph again, "Alright, well, that's a good starting point for my view of you. How about you? Any burning questions for me?"

"Yes," Glyph said with a nod.

"Wonderful, then I will answer them-"

"Like me."

"What?"

"I want you to try and answer my questions like me. As few words as possible."

"A challenge? Wonderful. Proceed."

Glyph shook his head as Aaron "prepared" himself for the "challenge", but he soon started, "Why did you create your "act"?"

"For family."

"Why did you pick your crossbow as a weapon?"

"Family."

"When did you learn about your Semblance?"

"Family."

Glyph stopped, then smiled, then chuckled, Aaron joined him in this, "You told me to answer like you!"

"I know, I know. I wasn't expecting you to actually do it though."

"Fair enough. I am quite long-winded at times."

"Pick one of the questions I asked and answer it in as much detail as you want."

Aaron laid down fully on the ground as he pondered which question to answer, the sky above was clear, only a few clouds were a in it, and they were very thin. As he looked at one of the clouds, he felt it was the shape of something familiar. After seeing it he sprang back up to an upright position to face Glyph.

"Did you know I have siblings?" he asked.

Glyph thought about it for a few seconds then shook his head, "I did not."

"I didn't think so, no one but Erin does. The truth, is that I have many siblings. I'm the oldest by a few years. And so, naturally, it fell upon me to look after them while my parents worked. They worked very hard to keep us going. One of the ways I kept my siblings out of my parents hair was to play games with them. Anything I could think of, even made up some new games to keep them on their toes."

"Bet they loved you."

"Oh, they did. Recall, that this was before I went to Signal, we were all very young then. Anyway, one of the games I did with them was an accuracy game. We would throw things at a target, or use a slingshot, and then one day, I found a very, VERY, old crossbow. I put foam rounds in it around my siblings, just so you know. After a while, I got rather good with it, to the extent that I could use it with one hand with extreme precision. So when the time came to make my weapon at Signal, I thought about my family, and I thought of the games we would play, and I remembered that crossbow. And the result of that..."

He reached to his the bottom of his legs and pulled out his two crossbows, posing with them for a little bit for show and effect. Glyph gave a mock clap at this.

"Bravo," he said sarcastically.

"Mock me for my posing skills if you must, but the story was true."

"I know. You do a lot for your family, don't you?"

"More than anyone will ever know, even Erin."

The two looked upon the other with new appreciation, and new conversations started due to their questions breaking the ice.

In the library, Macro and Yasmine sat down at one of the tables. They looked around and noticed many other pairings from their classmates. Both Macro and Yasmine looked at them with curiosity.

"I wonder what they're all talking about," queried Yasmine.

"Learning about each other hopefully," remarked Macro, "that is the assignment after all."

"I know that, Macro. But I mean, I wonder how they're all going about it. Are they going right to the point? Are they just trying to get through it so they can return to their friends or teammates? Do they even care about the answers that they're being given?"

"Good questions, you'd have to ask them for the answers though."

"Fair enough. On a personal note, of all the people on MEAL I could've been paired up with, other than Leilani obviously, I'm glad it was you."

"Likewise. I was surprised when Professor Tod put us together. I feel we've shown a mutual respect for one another since our groups became friends."

"That we have," Yasmine said with a smile. "You've always been appreciative of my gifts, my Semblance, my ability to think logically and rationale."

"And you Yasmine," he added with a motion of the hand to her, "have appreciated my leadership skills, and how I handle situations both in combat and in our groups."

"I do. It also helped early on that Glyph trusted you completely. After my fight with him, I basically trusted anything he did or said."

"A good philosophy."

The two laughed, then just looked at the other. Yasmine was the first to break the silence, "So, now that that's out of the way, what do you want to talk about now?"

"No idea, you're the Chessmaster, shouldn't you have everything planned out?" Macro joked.

Yasmine's expression changed, venom filled her face, "Do not...call me that."

"Why not? I thought that was your nickname."

"It is...but not one I picked."

"That's how nicknames work, Yasmine."

"If I started calling you "Crew Cut", and it caught on all over Beacon, would you hate it?"

Macro paused and thought about it, and eventually nodded, "Yeah, I would. Ironically, some people did call me something like that at Signal, before I showed them up and made them stop. So...I'm guessing "Chessmaster" was yours?"

She nodded and sighed heavily, "As you know, me and Leilani didn't have it easy in Minstrel. Faunus weren't really liked in the section we lived in. We had to work hard to keep our family's store open. All I could see when I walked the streets of our village was the various ways they would look at me...look at my eyes. So when I got to school, and I learned my Semblance, I worked hard to prove that I was as good as anyone, or better."

"That's how you got your nickname, isn't it?" Macro realized, "Your Semblance."

"Yeah, and at first...I honestly didn't mind it," Yasmine noted with a small smile. "It was a teacher I liked who gave it to me. One of the few that treated me fairly. He called me that because I could always see a few moves ahead, and he liked that. And they all knew it. I was at the top of my class Macro, the very top. Yet they didn't care, they had to invent reasons to knock me down, and when I fought back? The others heard about it, and they got mad. Mad because I was legitimately the best! They thought that was wrong!"

"Kids are idiots, and prejudice blinds everyone who lets it."

"Yeah. Eventually, they got so mad that they used my nickname as a slang term, or as an insult. "Careful, you don't want to get Chessmastered." "Chessmaster at the top? Color me surprised." They couldn't take it, and the name that was given to me out of respect became a curse. But..."

"But what?" asked Macro, unsure of why she paused.

She sighed even heavier, then rubbed her head in pain, "I made it worse. I hated them for what they did to me, to my nickname. So I pushed harder. I made sure that I did 100% in everything I did, no excuses. If they wanted to use my nickname like that? I was going to make sure it meant what they wanted. I would go so worked up, if it wasn't for Leilani I would've snapped. And even then, I did. Here."

"The fight with Glyph."

"Yeah, it was the culmination of all my pain. I had it in my mind that leading the group would be the ultimate achievement, something that none of them could take from me. But I didn't get it, and I lost it. You know the rest."

Macro watched her with sympathy as he noticed a tear go down her cheeked. She brushed it away quickly and looked away ashamed.

Knowing that something needed to be said, he leaned in, "Hey, it's ok. You're allowed to feel. I know you put you on the tough exterior for Leilani, and to tick off Reyson, but you're still alive, it's ok to cry when you're sad, or frustrated."

Yasmine laughed at this, "Do you cry?"

"Sometimes. Like you, it's rare. But I do. I cried when the Heralds returned, when I thought I lost my father once, when the incident when Glyph happened and I couldn't find him to let him know it was going to be ok. Despite what people think, I'm not a soldier 100% of the time. And to be honest, when I have those moments, I feel lost, but I accept it, and try to figure out what it means. I can't be what people expect me to be all the time. Glyph knows that, my father knows that. And now, so do you. And I promise that I'll never call you that nickname again. But you should promise me that you won't dwell on your past here. Beacon is not Minstrel. Yes, there are haters here, and there are Heralds here. But...you aren't alone here. You don't have to just rely on Leilani anymore to keep you balanced. You have us, and you might not realize it, but there are others here who respect you greatly. I would know, I am one, and I've talked with others who feel the same way about you. Humans and Faunus alike."

"Really?" asked Yasmine surprised.

"Oh yeah, I could introduce you to some of them if you like. Never hurts to have more people to talk to."

"I'd like that. Thank you, Macro."

"Of course, that's what friends do."

"Indeed. Want to walk around and talk some more? The library feels a little cramped now."

"Sure."

The two smiled and rose up and headed for the hallway, just as Macro reached the door though he turned to her, "Oh, one more thing."

"Yeah?"

"If you tell Reyson or Diana that I cry sometimes, I'm going to have to kill you."

"Ha! You wish. Besides, I'm not the kind of girl who gives good ammo away."

"Good to know."

With that, they left and continued on their way.

In the room of GRYD, Reyson sat on his bed, and looked across to the bed next to him, where Erin sat, she was looking at him in kind. Reyson was calm, but Erin seemed a bit tense. Neither of them talked for a while. This made Erin even more tense.

"You know, I find it ironic that we were paired together..." she started.

"Because we both have families that claim to love us but don't accept our unique views on life and thus try and force us into their own traditions no matter how many times we try and tell them that's not us?" Reyson replied without taking a breath.

"Uh...yeah, pretty much."

A silence returned, but the two literally laughed it away.

"Not so ironically, the topic of our...bond...for lack of a better turn, has been brought up before."

"Really? By who?"

"Yasmine, when my Aunt Heron showed up. I told her about my family history and she compared it to yours. To be fair, mine is worse."

Erin raised her hands to show she wasn't going to argue, "Oh, no doubt. The little you have told us makes it clear that yours are a lot more forceful than mine...although...what does that say about my parents? Because they're forceful too, but..."

"Though they're still trying to turn you into what you're not, you can tell they still care for you?. Yeah, I know. Like I said, our "bond". Heh. As sad as it sounds, I'm a bit envious of you Erin."

"Oh, how so?" she asked, surprised by the reveal.

"You defy your parents in your own way, in a way that's...peaceful," he noted with a shrug. "You don't yell at them, you don't argue every chance they get, you don't try and get attention by going overboard and proving you're not what they want you to be."

"Well...most of the time..." she laughed as she grabbed her hair and held it out, "I mean, my hair is pink, I wasn't born this way."

Reyson nodded and laughed, "Fair enough. But, that was one act of open defiance right in front of them. Me? Almost half my life has been about open defiance of my parents and family. It won't end well. It just can't. You though, you have hope, and I'm pretty sure you hold onto that hope even when you do your defiant acts. And I love that about you...platonically...of course."

"Of course."

"Had to say it, don't want Aaron getting any wrong ideas. Or you for that matter."

"I'm not worried about you Reyson."

The way she said that made him curious, "Oh? Why not?"

"Honestly?" she asked, now suddenly nervous.

"Yeah, I won't bite."

"As you are right now...I don't think you're capable of romantic love."

"...go on."

"Can you love? Yeah. You love battle, you love the thrill of the fight, you love how your weapons feel in your hands. But to love another that way? I don't think you have it in you. Not right now at least. Especially how you are right now, Reyson."

Reyson laughed lowly and shook his head, "No arguments here, Erin. I've got too much hate in me. For my family, for my blood, my literal blood I mean. The Bloodlust. And even if I did have it in me to love, given what's happened to me, I wouldn't want anyone I care about to come near me. Wouldn't want to risk them getting hurt."

"That's...very honorable, and romantic," Erin said with a small smile.

"Don't push it."

"I'm not. One of the greatest hallmarks of love is wanting to protect those you care about. It's why Aaron and I always keep an eye on each other in battle, even when we're far apart. Because if we feel the other is in danger, we'll risk everything to go and help them."

"That sounds about right. You are "The Lovers" after all."

This time Erin laughed and shook her head, "Ah, that nickname. Note 100% accurate, but we like it."

"It'd be weird if you didn't."

"Maybe."

Silence filled the room again, Reyson looked away from Erin for a bit, and as his eyes scanned the room, he saw one of Diana's dresses, it was very sparkly, and that made him smirk and look back to Erin.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, we're supposed to be open and honest, right?" she noted with a shrug.

"Right. My biggest fear is my family coming here, as you saw with my Aunt Swann. But what will you do if/when your parents come to visit?"

At this question, Erin became much more nervous. Her body seemed to shiver, and she almost went into an upright fetal position, arms wrapped tightly around her legs. She looked away from him while she thought of the answer.

Soon though, she relaxed, and looked at him with calm eyes, "I'll do what I have to. I'll treat them with respect, but I won't be afraid to show them who I am. I'll likely wear my other outfit when I meet them, and when they ask where my kimono is...I'll tell them I didn't want to wear it."

"And if they walk out because of your "clear disobedience" to their traditions?"

"Then that's their choice, just like my wearing my outfit is mine."

"...I like that. You should definitely do that when that happens."

"Remind me of this when that happens, I'll probably be scared stiff."

They laughed at the irony, and just looked at one another with kindness. Then Erin's eyes caught a glimpse of Reyson Khopeshes, they were against a wall, far away from where Reyson was, she saw this and got a frown on her face, "My turn for a question. You mind?"

Reyson shook his head, "Nope."

"When are you going to pick up your swords again?"

"See...why did you have to ruin the moment?"

"You asked me a personal question, it's my turn."

"You didn't see me that night, Erin. I was a monster, I was just as bad as a Grimm."

"Maybe, but from what Yasmine and Glyph said, you were drugged, which means without those, you can't go into that mode. Right?"

"And what if you're wrong? What if that was just the tipping point, one that from now on I don't need it to go into the Bloodlust?"

She thought about the question, gave a light shrug, and looked at him with honest eyes, "Then we'll handle it. We know what it is, and you can be knocked out in that mode. So...we'll handle it."

"I wish I had your faith," he remarked bitterly.

"It's not about faith, it's about friendship. Despite how you treat us sometimes, we are your friends. We do care about you, even Yasmine. It hurts us that you're not who you are."

"That's a stretch, and you know it."

"No, it's not!" she urged, "We all have our roles in our teams. On MEAL? Macro is the commander, me and Aaron are the "foundation" as Macro likes to call us, and then Leilani is the variable because of how her weapons work. For GRYD, Glyph is the evasion expert, Yasmine is the tactician, Diana is...well...the dancer...that one was obvious, and you...you're the tank. You don't think we notice how much damage you can take in a fight and keep going? That's epic how long you can last...and scary at times...but mostly epic."

She smiled at him, and he smiled back, but couldn't help but shake his head, "Thanks for trying, almost had me there for a sec."

"Oh yeah? Well if that was the hook and the line, here's the sinker. Every day you don't pick up your weapons and fight? Be who you are? They win."

"Who's "they"? The Grimm?"

"...yeah, partially. But I meant your family. After all, they don't want you to be openly aggressive, right? They want you to be passive, right? Not fight, not love it, fear it, try other options. Be...peaceful. So...how I see it is...if you don't go back to being Reyson soon...you're basically going to be a Heron."

Reyson's eyes bulged when he heard this, and his breathing became much more pronounced as he fumed his anger through his nostrils. Erin just sat there, taking it in, but not budging from her position. Reluctantly, he looked over at his swords, and just watched them for a bit. Slowly, he rose from the bed and went over to them. Erin watched anxiously as he reached for them.

After a deep breath, he picked up the swords, and instantly he felt a connection to them within his body. The fire that he had been surprising rose up, but in a way that was empowering, not overwhelming like when he went into the Bloodlust form before. Reyson just eyed them for a bit. Then whirled them around in his hands and put them into his holsters on his legs.

Reyson took several deep breaths before returning his gaze to Erin, who was now beaming at him, "You tell the others that I expect them to be ready if something goes wrong."

"I promise," she answered with a bow of her head. "And you promise me that when my parents come, you'll be in my corner alongside Aaron."

"I promise, just make sure he knows about what we talked about, don't want things to get weird."

"I promise that too."

With a nod to the other, they sealed their promises. Reyson returned to the bed and sat down on it, "So...what now?"

"How about some light questions?"

"That's a great idea...umm...why did you decide to dye your hair pink?"

"Oh! That's a great question...what happened was..."

Elsewhere, in the amphitheater, Leilani and Diana just sat in the seats above the combat arena. They couldn't look at each other, so they just looked everywhere else.

"Well...this isn't awkward," joked Diana.

"Not at all," acknowledged Leilani with a small smile.

"Why do you think Professor Tod did it?"

"You heard Macro, what he said."

"Oh Leilani, when it comes to guys, you have to hear what they DON'T say. All he said was that she wasn't going to change her mind, he never noted what exactly he told her, or her reply."

"Yeah...good point."

"I try. Anyway, why do you think she did it?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"You're closer to her than I am, didn't you bond on that one mission?"

Leilani smiled as she thought about her time with Vixi, "Yeah, I guess we did. So...I'd guess she knows what's going on between us, and she wants to help out."

Diana heard this and sighed, "Yeah, that sounds like her."

Time ticked by, and neither said a word to the other, nor could they look at each other still, the whole situation was just too awkward.

"Why do you love him?" Diana asked suddenly.

The personal nature of the question jarred Leilani from her spot, and she couldn't help but look at Diana with a bit of shock and outrage. Diana looked at her and smiled when she saw this.

"Well?"

"That's...that's a very personal question. Why should I answer that? And don't say the assignment!"

"Ok, um, because I'll tell you why I love him. That's fair, right?"

Leilani didn't like this, but she shrugged, then nodded, "Yeah, that's fair."

"Great, I'm all ears. metaphorically speaking."

"Oh, like I haven't heard that one before."

"I'm sure, now stop stalling!"

Leilani's ears fell against her face. She straightened them out before looking at Diana, but then got anxious and looked back at the battlefield, "Do you...do you remember our first night at Beacon?"

Diana scratched her head as she thought about it, "You mean when we were in teams? Or the night before that?"

"Night before that."

"Oh, when we were all in that one room together?"

"Yeah, what do you remember?"

"Uh, I danced for some of the others, great crowd. There were a few disturbances if I recall correctly."

"Yeah, I was in one of them. I was with my sister, and some guys thought it would be funny to throw a fruit at me. Macro and Glyph saw this, and Glyph intervened. He stopped the fruit just before it hit me. The look he gave them, the way he said, "Grow up", I should've been scared, but I wasn't...I felt...safe."

Diana smiled, "He does have that effect on people. I speak of that as his teammate."

"Yeah, he was...something," Leilani said with a smile, "it's not a stretch to say that I had a crush on him because of that. I could barely contain myself when I saw you and him outside the Emerald Forest. I think Macro knew what was going on though."

"That's what happens when you're best friends with the guy."

"True enough. Anyway, it all started there, but as time went on, as I worked with Glyph, talked with him...when I was able to work up enough courage that is, everything he did or said just made me...fall for him more. It wasn't just that he talked to me nicely, or treated me well, though that was nice...so nice."

She went sad as she thought about it, Diana nodded in understanding of what she meant, "I won't insult you by saying I know what you went through, because I didn't. Not even close. But I can say I'm sorry that you had to go through it at all, Leilani."

"Thanks Diana. And yeah, it was very rough, which made Glyph's treatment of me so much nicer. Don't get me wrong! Macro treats me great!" she said quickly, as if not saying it was an insult to her partner, "As does Aaron and Erin! Reyson...well..."

"No need to explain that one."

"Right. Well, with Glyph, there was something...else. He was kind, caring, and he saw me as...an equal. This one time, he saved one of my pictures from being ripped by Primrose, Maggie, and Rita. The hatred he had when they tried to hurt me, I should've been freaked, but I never felt happier. Macro was there too, but there was something different in his look. He wanted to help me for reason of justice, and being my friend, of course. But Glyph? He didn't want me to be belittled, insulted, crushed. Why do I love him? Because he's one of the few people I know that I truly believe will do anything to keep me happy, keep me safe, and look at me like I'm no different than anyone else. He doesn't see Faunus, he sees...me."

She smiled at Diana at the end of her speech, then looked back at the amphitheater. Diana watched her for a bit, then smiled herself, "That was beautiful, Leilani."

"Thanks, your turn!" she said in a rather girlish way.

"Fair enough. I already told part of this to Macro, but, I'll tell you the rest. You...uh...you met my mother."

"Yeah, hard to forget someone who traps you in a net."

"Indeed, I'm still sorry about that by the way."

"Not your fault, and you're not the only one with crazy parents."

"And I'm grateful for that, believe me. Regardless, my mother, when not trying to kill Macro's father, is a high ranking member of the Atlas military. As such, her name is in good standing, and my name is in good standing. While at Atlas, the school I mean, I was treated with...delicacy. Because if anyone insulted me, they thought that my mother would want to...correct their mistake."

"Did...that actually happen?" Leilani asked nervously.

"Once, that was way before school though. A bully got a little too cocky, and mother took him down a peg...or ten. Anyway, by the time I made it to school, everyone was rather tense around me. I was able to charm my way into their hearts through my dances, but the tension was still there. That's one of the reasons I wanted to come to Beacon and not stay at Atlas. I wanted to be out of my mothers' "fear zone". She didn't like it at first, but she came to respect it. She's...very protective of me."

"As most mothers' are, I would hope."

"True, but there's a line and all that. But when I came here, I felt that my charm and skills would get me through most situations, and they did, until I met Glyph. Yeah, he's not easy to win over when you make the wrong moves," she noted with a laugh.

" You must not be used to making wrong moves, both in dancing and in life."

"That is true as well. Like I told Macro, Glyph just...sees through it all. If I do something overboard, go too far on something, he lets me know. If I screw up, he'll get mad, but it's with a purpose, a purpose to make me better. He gives me more chances than I deserve, way more. That's...beautiful to me. And when I see him be truly mad or angry at me, I feel horrible, because I don't want him to look at me that I want him...I want him to look at me like I see him look at you."

Diana's face melted into an expression of pure sadness, Leilani looked at her and saw this, then became sad herself, "Is that why you were angry with me? Because he wasn't looking at you like that?"

"Part of it. I thought he wanted us to be together based on things he did or said, and I tried to be what he wanted, and then it felt that though I was trying...he chose you instead, that...made me very mad. To be clear, I wasn't mad at you, you were just...in the area of effect, as it were. Despite what I know you think, I don't hate you, Leilani, and I never have."

"Thanks, Diana. It's nice to hear you say that."

The two smiled at one another, and a rather peaceful silence filled the amphitheater. After a while though, Leilani got nervous, "So...what do we do now? You and me I mean. How do we...proceed...knowing how we both feel about Glyph?"

Diana chuckled as she leaned back in her chair, "Well, ironically, my mother gave me some good advice after her "attack". She said that if me and Glyph were meant to be together, it would happen. But, the reverse is also true, if you and Glyph are meant to be together, in the forever sense I mean, it'll happen. So...we just continue. Be kind to each other, be friends, be teammates when in battle...and we'll see what happens. Sound fair?"

"Yeah, that sounds fair. I just...I just want things to go back to how they were before me and Glyph dated."

"I'm sorry, but that won't happen," Diana said bluntly.

This made Leilani turn and look at her with uncertainty, "Why would you say that?"

"Because before you dated Glyph, you were a nervous wreck around him at times. But now, you're much more comfortable. And you know that Glyph has changed because of you being his girlfriend, right?"

Leilani blushed, "Yeah...I've noticed."

"You two dating has changed our group, and yeah, I made it for the worse, but, I'm fixing that. Don't wish for the past, wish for a better future."

"I like that."

"So do I. Now, if you think we've got enough for our papers, let's get out of here, I'm starving."

"You know what? So am I. Dinner is going to start soon, I bet the others will be there."

"Then let's go."

With a final smile to the other, they left the amphitheater, the tension between them now fully gone. A better future already in the works.

Sure enough, as they entered the cafeteria, the others were there getting their meals. Though they all sat together and talked, none of them talked about what they discussed in their pairs. All they would acknowledge is that their chats were productive. And for them, that was enough. What they shared was personal, and was only meant for their pairing partner. But no matter what they talked about, all of them could tell that they were closer as friends than they were before.

The next time Vixi Tod had her class, she collected all the papers from the students. Once she had them in her office, she immediately looked for the papers from GRYD and MEAL. She started to read them with apprehension, but then slowly grew a smile that widened with each paper. Once done, she laid them down on her desk and laughed.

"I love it when I'm right."

Later that same night, Glyph walked the hallway, heading back to his room. A shadow appeared behind him.

"Glyph?" called out a voice.

Glyph whirled around, and to his relief, Elenor was there, looking at him nervously. He smiled at her and bowed his head, "Elenor, you shouldn't sneak up on me like that."

"Yeah...sorry," she said still nervous.

"It's alright. How are you? Oh, did you have a good time with Professor Tod's pairing?"

"Oh yes! I was paired up with the leader of VEXD, actually."

"VEXD...isn't that Veridi's team?"

"Yes, that's her. She's nice...a bit odd I admit but...she was nice to me. I think I might have a new friend," Elenor stated with a cautious smile.

He beamed at her, "You can never have too many of those."

"True, look, um...I need to talk to you about Primrose."

His expression shifted to one of a more serious nature, "What about?"

"I overheard her a few hours ago, talking with Maggie. Whatever she's going to do to try and get to you and the others? It's going to be soon. Please be careful."

"Thanks for the warning, I'll take care of it."

"How?" she asked.

"By doing what I've always done, putting her in her place."

*credits*


End file.
